Beacon's Hidden Academy: Shadow Ops
by JBubu
Summary: What if aside from the Huntsman and Huntresses training in Beacon there was also a second face to the academy? An academy that deals and trains soldiers in the arts of espionage, assassination, infiltration, and shadow wars. This story follows the experiences of Dante, a newly admitted student to Beacon who also joins as a member of Beacon's other side: Shadow Ops.
1. New Arrival

**Author's Note: Hello to all new readers and those who have visited before. This is simply a replacement of the previous chapter with some grammer fixes and proper spacing. To any new readers, thank you for choosing my story and I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

The night was cool, seemingly quiet in the late hour. The streets looked more or less deserted, aside from the occasional few making their ways home, some entering clubs or nighttime shops. '_Hmm, looks like this city is a lot quieter then back home'_, a figure thought as he made his way through the streets, a little aimlessly since he was not too familiar with the area. He decided to lean against a near wall not too concerned with where he was really headed. Then out of the corner of his eye he spots a little commotion, it seems a group is heading out of an alley and headed to some shop.

'_What's this? A little late to be headed out in such a large group into, a dust shop?' _Though he would have ignored most people, the fact that they all were wearing the same back suits with red ties, shads, and armed at that peeked his interest. They also seemed to be following a leader, judging by his distinct White jacket, Bolero hat, and a gait that screamed 'I'm in charge!' This seemed interesting and since he was actually quite bored he decided to follow though for stealth purposes he made his way to the roofs of a building on the other side of the street from the shop. It was simple enough, just run a few steps and with a powerful kick-off land right on the roof regardless of the fact that it was a 4 story building.

The figure walked to the ledge and promptly sat down to enjoy the view. '_Now let's see what's going on here. Could this be a robbery? Turf war? I just hope I get some action out of it_, _I haven't gotten into a good fight in a while. I don't think any of those guys was particularly strong though, a least there might be enough to entertain me for maybe 30 seconds.' _As he continued to ponder his next action a crash and some shouts brought his attention back to the streets. One of the goons was lying flat on his back, out cold, and standing beside him was a figure in a red hood.

'_Hmm, were did that one come from. Seems really small, almost like a little girl by the look of the figure.' _Watching the scene unfold, the girl pulled out a red box from her back, spinning it in her hand until a massive scythe appeared and logged its tip into the ground. '_Damn, now that is a weapon. I wonder what some little girl is doing around here packing that kind of fire-power' _He watched in fascination as the little girl wiped the floor with the goons dressed in black and then the apparent leader stepped out of the shop. Though he wasn't close he could actually hear clearly what he was saying.

"Well, they were worth every sent," spoke the leader "Well Red, I think this has been an eventful evening and as much as I'd love to stick around I'm afraid this is where we part."

As he spoke the tip of his, cane?, opened and fired what seemed like a flame dust round that exploded on impact. The girl though had avoided the shot with the use of blast from her scythe to propel herself away. As she landed the man made a dash to an emergency ladder on a building across from where the figure himself was watching. As he neared the roof, the little girl asked the store clerk, who had appeared at the store entrance, if he was going to be ok.

Then she again used some propulsion from her scythe to quickly ascend the building herself. Once she arrived she called out getting the man's attention. As he turned a bullhead appeared from behind the building and nearing the edge of the roof. The man then jumped in and turned around yelling end of the line as he tossed a fire dust crystal at the girl. He then let loose another shot with his cane at the crystal causing an explosion. As the figure was about to jump across to the roof to the building with the combatants a women dropped out of seemingly nowhere and shielded the girl from the blast.

The man seemed taken aback with the arrival of the women and stumble back as the women shots beams of dust infused energy at the bullhead. He then made his way to the front of the ship and switched places with the current pilot. A women appeared from the side of the bullhead, dressed in a red, open around the arms with tattoos that glowed with energy. Though her face caught the figures attention, mostly shrouded in black hair with glowing amber eyes. The two women then began an amazing exchange from blasts of energy and a crystal shower.

Then the women on the roof formed a spear of crystal and lounged it at the bullhead though the women in red managed to blast the spear apart. As they continued the woman in red created a ring of explosions around the two on the roof managing to distract them long enough for the ship to escape. As the figure watched this all unfold he realized certain details of the new women reminded him who he was searching for.

'Wait_, blonde, green eyes from what I can see, and uses a riding crop with dust spells. If I'm not mistaken her name was . . . Goodwitch. She is supposedly the headmistress of_ _Beacon Academy so that would mean that she knows the headmaster, Ozpin. Ok, at least I found them now how to get her attention, she seems distracted by the girl asking for her autograph . . . guess I'll just wait a bit and see if the girl leaves.' _As he watched the two seemed to begin to head down to the floor though not before the women, Goodwitch, turned and gave one clear glance at him before turning to the girl and jumping to the floor after her.

The figure smirked to himself, '_Well she definitely knows I was watching so I'll just trail behind them and wait until she comes to me' _With that thought he began moved every so often jumping from roof to roof maintaining enough distance to not alert the girl but close enough that Goodwitch could obviously still detect him. He then watched as the pair entered a building since it was their destination. '_Damn, looks like I got to wait now' _and the figure let out a sigh as he again sat down on the ledge of a room waiting for the women to contact him.

After around 30 minutes the girl appeared at the door of the building. The figure watched in amusement as the girl jumped around as though some wish had been granted before dashing off in a flurry of rose petals. A few moments later Goodwitch appeared scanning the roof tops until her gaze met the figures. She they gave a motion for him to follow so he just slipped off the room and landed with a quiet thud on the street floor. Then he began his approach to the building as Goodwitch held the door for him.

Giving her a look he entered what seemed like a stairway up to the second floor. As he arrived at the end of the stairs Goodwitch approached and opened a door at the end of the stairway into a small room. In the room was a small table with a single light hanging above and a small window with a view into the street to the side of the building. Sitting across from the figure was a man in a green suite, silver hair, light brown eyes and a perfect poker face. He took the expression as an invite to sit across from him and rested himself down waiting for Ozpin to speak.

* * *

Ozpin was having a very interesting night first he had witnessed a young aspiring huntress handle a group of robbers with a scythe and the skill of an old friend of his. After speaking with her and hearing her intentions to apply for Beacon, he had promptly decided to give her an invitation to attend Beacon this year and begin her true training. After her acceptance, and departure Glynda had informed him that someone had been watching the whole exchange at the crime scene and then followed them here. Having peaked his curiosity he asked Glynda to invite the figure in and thus waited for his arrival.

Now the figure stood before him, not exactly what he expected. The figure was a man, from his looks around his 20's, silver hair that fell in a wild form, some strands almost reaching his hazel eyes, a light yet strong frame, roughly about 6 feet with an extra inch or two, a very tan complexion as though someone had put too much cream with their morning coffee. His clothes was a black shirt with golden trim, a light black jacket that had red lining and markings along the sleeves. His hands seemed to be wrapped in black cloth up into his sleeve though the fingers were exposed. He had very dark, almost black jeans and black shoes. At his side was a blade and sheath, both black with the handle of the blade wrapped in a red cloth similar to his hands.

'_Quite the interesting wardrobe, though he seems a little young for the ware and tare evident on his clothes. I wonder what made him follow Glynda all the way here' _Ozpin thought to himself. The young man then sat himself down and made eye contact waiting for him to speak. Ozpin decided now was an appropriate time to begin the conversation.

"So, how can I help you young man?" Ozpin asked noting any expression that crossed the man's face.

"I came here searching for the Headmaster of Beacon, a Professor Ozpin. Is that you by chance?" the man replied.

"Yes," replied Ozpin "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your acquaintance mister . . . ?"

"Dante" the man, now known as Dante replied.

"Dante hmm" Ozpin looked him in the eye seemingly a little more interested in the conversation. "Why can I help you with Dante? It seems you know of me and spent quite some time following my colleague and waiting to see me?"

"Well," Dante began "I was interested in attending Beacon and thought the best action would be to find you personally. I noticed the little incident at the dust shop while looking around the city and watched to see what would happen. Then when your colleague arrived I noticed that she had a perfect resemblance to the headmistress of Beacon, professor Goodwitch, and so I followed her hoping to speak with her and ask about you. And here we are now."

"And what interest do you have in applying to Beacon. I can tell from your stance and look that you have definitely experienced combat and have travelled around on your own. Why would a seasoned individual such as yourself want to attend my academy that begins with students that are most likely 5 or 6 years your juniors . . .?"

"Actually I just recently turned 20," Dante cut in. "And as for why, I was hoping to gain an advanced Hunter's license which could greatly increase my job opportunities. Also . . ." Dante's voice dropped as he stared Ozpin in the eye as he completed his explanation "I was more interested in Beacon's other programs."

Ozpin eyed Dante, surprised at the young man's request though he did not show it. He began "How did you come to know of such a program's existence?" Ozpin inquired.

"I have been solo for roughly 3 years and have worked a multitude of jobs. The grand majority of them made use of my . . . slightly colder set of skills. It only makes sense that I got little bits of info in regards to programs that use said skills in more prominent ways. I learned that a few academies across Remnant had these programs and that Beacon was one of them." Dante finished never breaking eye contact with Ozpin.

Ozpin examined the young man in front of him seeing him in a new light. He they sighed as he began to speak again.

"What you are asking for is to be admitted into one of the most dangerous programs run by any of the academies on this continent. If admitted you are forced into a contract of secrecy, your assets and movements to be monitored at all times, and living a life while constantly looking over your shoulder. Are you truly prepared for such a life?" Ozpin asked both intrigued and slightly saddened by the development of this conversation.

Dante didn't even seem to falter as he replied "Yes I am. Though I would gladly face down the creatures of Grimm and aspire to be a hero the truth is that Grimm aren't even humanity's greatest concern presently. Government movements, shady business deals, and the concerns with the Faunus populations are all of growing threats. If the problem rooted within our walls are not dealt with first then by the time the Grimm finally breach our defenses there won't be much of humanity left to protect. . . and besides I'm already very used to living with an eye always open." Dante finished with the trace of sadness as he spoke the last words.

Ozpin watched as Dante's eyes finally dropped as he waited for a reply. Part of him wanted to tell him that he could just apply to be a regular student but by the same point he could tell that the young man in front of him had faced hard choices before and was prepared to continue with such a lifestyle. Letting out another sigh Ozpin finally answer "Very well, if you are prepared and accept the risks then it seems that I have no choice but to accept you into Beacon as a Hunter and a member of our hidden program."

As Ozpin finished he notice Dante expression relax a bit, seemingly satisfied with the reply. "Now I need you to give me some information before I can get to the paperwork for you. I need you place of origin, full name, age, weapon name, and general skill set."

Dante nodded before replying "Dante Argentum, Vacuo, 20 years old, my blade's name is Draco Ira (Dragon Wrath), and skills are hand to hand combat, single and dual-wielding weapons, night-time operations, assassination, ambush, tracking, interrogation, and wilderness survival."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow as he observed Dante "I see what you meant when you said that most of the skills you employed were of a . . . darker nature. Very well, my colleague Glynda will begin the application and processing of your information. You will begin your initiation and team formation along with this year's newest applicants in 1 weeks' time."

As Ozpin finished his statement he got up along with Dante. "Wait" Dante said "Why would I begin initiations and form teams with the new arrivals? Aren't I in a different program from the regular hunters and huntresses in training?"

Ozpin replied "Yes, though this my surprise you there are other applicants to join Beacon's other program, many around your age. You shall have a separate initiation which will help you find your partner that will be with you for the following years. As for the rest of the students at Beacon the new applicants will be shown as advanced transfer students that undergo elite training to become specialized Hunters. Though you will be required to attend some standard classes aside from you more discrete lessons and generally socialize with Beacon's regular students."

Dante gave Ozpin an amused look as he considered the alibi supplied for him and the implications it would have in his time at Beacon. Deciding that everything sounded good he nodded before shaking hands with Ozpin.

Ozpin then said "Well Dante, this has been a very interesting night. I look forward to seeing you at your initiation. Welcome to Beacon Academy as a member of . . . Shadow Ops".


	2. Preparations

**Author's Note: Enjoy the story! I had a note before but it probably wasn't necessary so, eh! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

After meeting with Ozpin Dante had decided to find a place to stay for the remainder of the week and possibly get some new clothes to take the edge off his rather rough appearance. As soon as the next morning came Dante headed out for a quick breakfast in a local café as he began to settle his thoughts on last night's eventful proceedings.

He had successfully enrolled himself in Beacon and Shadow Ops, personally got acquainted with professor Ozpin, and now had a week to prepare for some form of initiation to test his skills and pair him with a partner. With a quick look at the menu Dante decided on a large coffee with extra cream, scrambled eggs, sausage links, and some toast. Once the waiter had left Dante leaned back into his chair now lost in his thoughts.

'_Well, it looks like everything went better than expected. I had heard that Ozpin was a bit of a mysterious figure with an unreadable expression. Looks like he holds true to those claims. Though I'm not exactly sure if it's such a good idea to try to put me with a partner of any kind. I really prefer to work alone and most people I've tried to work with only seem to slow me down or just get in my way. Not to mention hardly any of them even have the stomach necessary for the line of work I specialize in. I mean, come on! Sometimes an interrogation turns into straight up torture if the target is too stubborn and if the info is important then you got to go through with it.' _

As his thoughts progressed he began to remember one such occasion where a target was being particularly stubborn. At the time Dante had managed to capture a drug lord who was being a nuisance to local police chief in a town on the outskirts of Atlas. The chief had posted a bounty to try and get any info he could on the leader of the local drug operations. Dante had happened to be passing through when he spotted a poster listing the drug lord and the bounty on his head. 25,000 lien for one Arios Santos, wanted dead or alive, an extra 5k for bringing him in alive. Since he was running a little dry, Dante decided that this would be a simple job that would leave him well off for a few months and so began his hunt.

It was a simple matter, just go into any dodgy looking clubs and ask around for a good drug suppliers. After an hour or so he got in contact with a dealer behind an alley way. Once he was sure they were out of view Dante grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him into the wall. As the dealer began to struggle Dante decided to apply more pressure until an audible crack came from his shoulder. Before he could let out a scream Dante clapped his other hand over his mouth and began to question the dealer.

"Santos, where is he?" Dante asked with a calm yet cold tone.

The dealer stared back at him, tears beginning to stream down his face but he made no attempt to speak. "If you don't start talking I will shatter every bone in your arm until you tell me what I want to know" Dante finished with an almost feral growl at the end. The dealer, terror now evident on his face gave a slow nod before Dante lowered his hand for him to speak.

"S-Santos is in a warehouse on the edge of the town near the old factory district. The building is run down but still has the old paint and most of its roof intact. It red and is about 2 stories tall, you can't miss it . . ." the dealer said.

Dante looked at the man once more before deciding that that would be enough information. He then brought his right hand to the middle of the man's chest with his palm lightly resting on the sternum, then before the man could let out a sound Dante shoved his palm forward caving in the bones and crushing the heart and lungs of the dealer.

The man just stared at Dante as a small trickle of blood escaped his mouth before his head slumped forward. Dante then removed his hands and allowed the body to fall to the floor and began to walk away not really caring if anyone found the body and so he started to make his way to the warehouse.

Dante's attention was snapped back to the table as the waiter appeared with his food. Dante thanked the man before he began to eat lightly taking sips of his coffee and munching on the toast as he begin to make some plans for the day.

'_Ok, I need to get some new clothes, make myself seem a little less . . . well dark honestly and get some new wraps for my forearms. I could also get some new oil and polish off Draco Ira, I think there is still some dry blood on the end of the blade. Could also comb my hair, change my jeans and worn out boots. Then I think I'll head out to Beacon and get familiar with the campus. Maybe I can get some info on any books and materials I my need. Oh this going to be a long day.' _

Dante sighed before finishing off his breakfast and paying on his way out. He began to walk along a street looking for any stores that might supply any weapon products or clothes for men. After about 30 minutes he found what seemed like a decent clothing store that looked like it might have some interesting items. As he walked in a store clerk approached him with a large smile. She was rather cute, short with wild brown curls, almond eyes and a light complexion. She was dressed in a simple cream blouse and a dark navy skirt that reached her knees.

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" the clerk asked in a rather perky fashion.

Dante gave her a quick glance over while searching for her name tag. He spotted it on the left side of her chest resting on a small strap holding her blouse. It read Amber '_Nice name' _He thought before replying "Hi, I was just looking for some new jeans and a jacket, something hardy that can hopefully resist tearing and handle outdoor conditions."

"Let's see" replied Amber "We definitely have jeans that can fit those conditions as well as some jackets though those are a smaller selection"

"That's fine, the jeans are more important than the jacket. I was also wondering if you guys have clothes that can be used as wraps here?" asked Dante.

"What do you mean?" asked Amber a little confused at the question.

"Well they are wraps that are usually tied along the palm and wrist of the forearm, sometimes up to the elbow. They can either be polyester, cotton, or leather and are commonly about 3 inches wide and can be anywhere from 5 to 10 feet long. If you have seen any kickboxing fights or boxers prepare before their fights, they always have their hands and wrists wrapped up before they put on the boxing gloves" Dante explained.

"Oh" replied Amber now understanding what he meant. "I think we may have some, I can go check while you look for the jeans if you'd like?"

"That would be great, thank you" as Dante replied he began to walk off towards the jeans in the back aisle.

He glanced back as Amber made her way to another clerk asking about the wraps. Dante then turned his attention back to the jeans until he found a pair he liked. They were a straight fit pair, a dark grey color with the ends almost black. Thinking that the look would work Dante made his way to the changing stalls until he stopped and turned to look at a shirt on display.

It was a sleeveless shirt with a mainly black color and silver trimming along the shoulders and sides. '_A new shirt could be a good change as well' _Dante pondered as he grabbed the shirt and arrived at the changing stall. He made quick work removing his jacket, blade, shirt, and jeans before slipping into the new jeans and shirt. The shirt hugged his frame well just barely showing the hardened muscle underneath and the jeans fit perfectly, just lightly enveloping his legs.

Dante made a few test stretches and motions as if he was kicking an opponent with a drop axle. '_No stretching or tear, plenty of maneuverability, and comfortable to boot. Definitely going with this pair' _Dante thought before he heard Amber's footsteps approaching. She stopped just outside the curtain separating them.

"Um sir, I found some wraps if you were interested" Amber asked.

Dante just poked his head out to see Amber holding her hand out with two silver bundles of cloth. He noticed her eyeing him and gave a slight smile as he gingerly took the bundles from her hand and retreated back behind the curtain. As he began undoing his current wraps he noticed Amber hadn't moved and decided to ask a small question.

"Miss Amber, would you mind waiting a moment for me to put on the wraps. I need an honest opinion on how I look and was wondering if you could be my second opinion?" Dante stated with an amused expression across his face.

'_Hey, she is really cute and her opinion could definitely help out, especially if I'm going to a school with a bunch of younger students who will probably judge a lot based on appearances.' _Dante thought as he finished unwrapping his forearms. For a moment though his expression changed as he eyed his forearms observing them carefully. While most people had just skin and some hair, Dante's forearms were covered in silver scales with red trimmings. The pattern was somewhat like that of a snake, the scales starting at the base of each finger and coating the back of his hand and knuckle then progressing through his wrist and covering the majority of his forearm until it stopped just below his elbow.

Dante was not too keen on having his scales seen so he had decided that the best course of action was to always have the scales covered in tough wraps. On occasion blades or other sharp metals had torn through the wraps and exposed the scales but luckily the scales were tougher than iron and always sent out sparks when collided with metal. If the people he had fought in these occasions noticed the sparks the majority of them had assume that they were some armor he had worn under the wraps.

Few had ever realized that they were in fact part of his body but it didn't matter, if they found out Dante would usually silence them they could even tell anyone. It was a dark business but from experience Dante had learned that his scales were not normal and most, whether human or faunus, feared him and looked at him as if he was a monster. Hard to admit but those few were not very far off the mark, still he preferred hiding rather than deal with the looks of fear and disgust that were usually directed his way.

As he continued to observe his scales Amber replied "O-ok sir, I'll just wait until you are finished". Dante broke out of his thoughts and quickly tied the new wraps along his arms. Once finished he stepped out from behind the curtain to look at Amber. She was looking him up and down as a faint blush began to form on her cheeks.

* * *

Amber on her end was trying and failing at not blushing at the site of Dante. Yet she couldn't keep from staring at his figure, her thoughts racing '_Damn, I can't stop looking at him. That shirt lets me see every muscle on his chest, arms, and shoulders. Those wraps also look great with the silver color matching the silver trim of the shirt and marking running down his side . . . damn! Now those are abs, what is it six, no eight chiseled abs and perfect oblique muscles to boot. Ok, just tear away from his body and look at his face . . . no wait, now I can't look away from those big hazel eyes, strong jaw, and that silver hair. Ok, ok, just breathe and tell him how he looks, don't say anything stupid!' _As she finally took a breath after nearly 30 seconds of staring at Dante she finally managed a reply.

"I think you look really good sir." Amber said, still trying to keep a straight face. Dante just smiled back at her before speaking.

"Dante" he said.

"I'm sorry what?" Amber stated still distracted by his looks.

"I would prefer if you used my name Miss Amber, it's Dante" Dante replied with a very amused smile across his face.

"Oh, ok" Amber replied while her blushed only deepened. "If you insist, um Dante". She then smiled back as he walked out a little more, now only about a foot away from Amber.

"So where exactly are the jackets?" Dante inquired "I would like to try them on with this new look to see if I can find something that matches"

"Ok, then just follow me" stated Amber as she spun on her heel trying to control her blush as she lead him to some of the jackets that were designed for weather resistance rather than fashion. She stepped aside as they arrived and watched and Dante began looking through the jackets available in the rack. He picked out a black leather jacket to try on but it didn't seem to fit well on his shoulders.

He picked out another red jacket that did fit is frame but was too short on his midsection exposing part of his lower abs. He let out a grunt as he took off the jacket and began searching again. Trying to distract herself Amber began to search out jackets herself trying to see if anything would look to his liking. She then glanced over a jacket that caught her attention.

It was a large sized jacket that looked light and comfortable, it was a dark shad of silver with back trimmings along the edges and made of a tough polyester and leather mix. It also had some red markings along the shoulders, chest, and sleeves. The back was a little plain though she noted that the jacket was marked by the store as customizable.

"Um Dante," Amber stated as she held the jacket up "Do you think this jacket would work?"

"Hm . . . it looks pretty good, I'll give it a go," Dante replied as he reached for the jacket. Once he put it on Amber noticed that it fit along his shoulders perfectly and was just the right length on the midsection. Her blush came back as she realized how well the jacket fit his frame and seemed to complete his look as a whole.

"I think this jacket really goes well with my style, you have a good eye Miss Amber" Dante stated as he looked into a nearby mirror. "I'll take it." He finished as he took it off and turned back towards the changing rooms. "Now I just need to take all this off and bring it to the register to pay."

Amber just nodded to herself as she followed behind trying her hardest to not let her gaze drop from his back. '_Great even his back has perfectly toned muscles. Just stare at them, don't let your eyes drop . . . dammit! His rear looks just as good!' _Amber thought as a little blood dripped out of her nose. Gasping once she noticed she hurriedly began wiping the blood away as Dante turned to her with a questioning look.

"Are you ok?" he asked in a slightly concerned look.

Amber did her best not to coo at the look he gave her with the hazel eyes. She just nodded as he continued on though he kept glancing over his shoulder. Once he changed and collected his new clothes, Dante made his way to the register and waited for Amber to arrive on her end. As she began scanning his items, she thought of something to make a little small talk.

"Um, your jacket comes with a complimentary customization such logo additions or other markings," she said looking up at Dante. He seemed to consider her offer before replying.

"That sounds like a good idea. Where can I request the changes?" he asked her.

"You can just leave it here with a picture of the design you want and pick it up tomorrow." She said before nervously adding "I-I myself do some of the designs so I could um . . . do it for you" she finished while blushing tremendously.

Dante just smile before replying "That's a great idea, can I get a paper to draw my design on?" he asked.

Amber nodded and handed him a paper and pen while he took and began to draw a sketch. Since she was shorter than him she could clearly see him drawing the design and waited for him to finish. As he handed the paper back to her she asked "Is that design important? It almost looks like the marks for a semblance".

"It is" Dante replied. "I designed that mark for my semblance when I was around 12 and I've kept it ever since."

"It's pretty cool. Ok, I'll have it done by this time tomorrow" Amber said as she gave him a big smile which he returned.

"All right then catch you later" Dante said with a small wink before he turned away to exit the shop leaving a very flustered Amber at the register holding his new jacket.

* * *

Once he had left the store he stopped by other places to pick out some new black and silver boots, oil, metal cleaner, and other few necessities like a comb. Once he had gather all the material he stopped at a small park and decided to take a rest on a bench. As he stared down at his new clothes his eyes looked over the new wraps he had gotten a thought coming to him.

'_I hope I don't get those all bloody the way my current ones are'. _He looked down at his current wraps. They were black but under closer inspection clear satins of blood were evident. As he looked at the stains he remembered what had happened after he had gotten the information on the drug lord.

He had found the warehouse after roughly an hour of searching and was now stacking out the perimeter to see how many guards were around and where exactly might Santos be. As he observed he notice that none of the guards really had their attention turned to the roofs. They were probably assuming that no one would could make the jump from their roof to any of the buildings around without some for assistance.

Though that would have been probably true in most cases, Dante himself didn't really have a problem with clearing a nearly 20 meter jump. He just needed some form of distraction to cover the noise of a landing, even if he tried to absorb as much impact as possible he doubted he could muffle a landing beyond a dull thud. Luckily the problem worked itself out. They were opening a large set of doors that were almost screaming from their lack of oiling.

Using the sounded as cover Dante sprinted forward before making a powerful jump off the roof he had previously be observing from. As he neared the warehouse roof he made a mental note of any guards he passed over before landing in a role to try and cancel as much noise as possible. Thankfully the moving doors had created enough noise to drown out the sound of metal bending where Dante had landed.

Now on the roof he walked over to what seemed to be a sun roof. As he looked in he noticed a multitude of workers packing and distributing boxes of neon green pills. Over by on corner on a second floor pathway was a greasy man shouting out orders. He seamed scrawny, greases back gray hair, and cold green eyes. He was dressed in a grey trench coat over a faded shirt and torn black jeans. As he seeming to finish his little rant he walked down the path and entered a room at the end.

Having found his target Dante ran to the end of the roof that he assumed was right over Santos. Peaking over the ledge he noticed that there were not any guards below him and so he swung himself over the ledge. He then made his way for a window to see if he could spot Santos. As he looked through the window he noticed that the window was in the corner off to Santos's left. The man himself was seated behind a desk with his attention fixed on a scroll which seemed to be displaying a video of some kind.

Using the sound as cover Dante gingerly placed a palm on the window and began to apply a slight pressure, much to his surprise though the window wasn't locked and gave him easy access. Once inside he closed the window and stalked up behind the man before clapping one hand over his mouth and placing the other over his throat. The minute Dante's hand connected the man stopped moving becoming aware that he was not in a position to escape. As the man stopped moving Dante noticed that he could not hear anything outside the room. '_Is this room sound proof?' _Dante thought to himself before he began questioning the man.

"Are you Arios Santos?" he asked to which the man slowly nodded.

"Ok then, now is this room sound proof? I can't hear any of your workers outside." Dante stated.

Again Santos slowly nodded. Now that he knew they were going to be alone Dante removed his hand from Santos's mouth so he could speak. With his hand gone Santos spit out before questioning his apparent captor since he couldn't actually see Dante behind him.

"Who the fuck are you? Do you have any idea who you are threatening? I could have you tortured and murdered with a command. Let go of me **now!**" Santos spat. Dante himself gave an amused chuckle.

"Big words for someone with another's hand around his throat. You either got a really big pair on you or you are just stupid. I'm guessing it's the latter." Dante replied as he reached for the dropped scroll in front of Santos. Once in his hand Dante went through the options menu until he found the recorder and set the scroll down again.

"Now Mister Santos, you are going to say the name of all your contacts, associates, locations, and distribution routes. Am I clear?" Dante stated in a cold and emotionless tone.

"Are you fucking retarded?! Do you think you can get me to reveal such sensitive information? Preposterous, release me and disappear before I start hunting you down maggot!" Santos screeched.

To that reply Dante simply sighed before reaching for Santos's right hand. Once in his grasp Dante simply squeezed his hand shut crushing Santo's hand instantly while Santos himself let out a blood curdling scream. As soon as the scream died down Dante calmly asked again "Let's try this again. You will state everything I have asked you or I'll just continue to break you bones until you do. Also any more foul language out of you and I'll start getting bloody. Am I understood?" Dante asked, his tone taking a cruel turn now.

Santos stared straight ahead face taught with pain and spoke again "Fuck you".

With that he stayed silent. Dante already irritated with his stubbornness let out a growl. Santos stiffened, terrified at the noise his captor had made. He then began to shake as Dante released his hold of the crushed hand and lightly rested his hand on Santos's shoulder. Before Santos said anything else Dante closed his hand, his fingers tearing into Santos's shoulder, straight through bone and muscle.

Santos screamed again, this time tears streaming out of his eyes while he tried to shake off the fingers imbedded in his shoulder. As he screamed Dante tried to rein himself in. The smell of blood was tugging at his inner predator, the desire to tear Santos apart here and now but he couldn't allow it. Santos was his payday and he at least needed to get the information out of him so the local police force could cripple the drug network.

Once Santos stopped screaming he began to speak again, this time though sobs and gasps. "A-Al-Alright, I'll telling you anything you want . . . just stop the pain please" he begged.

Dante just gave a small grunt as he removed his hand from Santos's throat and pressed record on the scroll. Santos than began to say everything that was demanded of him, every time he seemed to hesitate Dante simply tightened his grip and after a yelp of pain Santos would continue. After he finished Dante ended the recording. As he brought his hand back behind Santos, Santos asked "Are you going to release me or take me with you to collect a reward?"

Dante thought for a minute before he replied "No, I'm just going to take your head as proof of your identity and that recording. That should be more than enough" he finished.

Santos began to cry again begging for mercy but that didn't last long. Dante placed his left hand directly in the center of Santos's shoulders before thrusting his hand and arm right though Santos's chest. As Santos began to fade he noticed that where fingers should have been on his attacker's hand were actually claws, about an inch long each with scales running along the back of each finger. With one last gurgle as blood trickled out of his mouth Santos slumped forward.

Dante then pulled his clawed hand out noticing that in his excitement he had allowed his claws to unveil. With a slight smirked he quickly grabbed the back of Santos's neck and with a jerk, tore his head clean off. Now with his prize in hand he found a small bag to deposit the head in as well as collecting the scroll. All things in hand, Dante headed back out the window and dropped straight to the floor. He didn't care if a guard saw him now and soon dashed off, away from the warehouse.

Once he got clear he decided to clean up a little since his arms and part of his face were covered with blood from the decapitation. He found a small fountain to wash himself off and then made his way to the police headquarters to turn in the bounty. As he made his way there he zipped up his black jacket to cover up most of his jaw and cheeks. He pulled out a pair of shads to also cover his eyes. His hair would stand out but that couldn't really be helped. He entered the station and asked for the chief in charge.

After a few moments the chief appeared, a large man with dark brown facial hair and a stern dark eyes. Dante presented him with Santos's head and the scroll containing all the information he had given. After a rather shocked look the chief simply nodded an instructed a nearby officer to collect the 25,000 lien reward along with the extra 5,000 as a bonus for the recording. After the officer returned and gave Dante his reward he simply turned and left, not bothering to say anything as he exited. Once in the streets he began walking away, he had no need to stay here any longer and so began his journey back to Atlas and from there an airport. His actual destination was Vale, and more specifically some academy named Beacon.

* * *

Once he stirred out of his memory Dante noticed that it was already dusk and he was feeling rather hungry. He got up I preparation to look for a decent place to eat when he noticed someone approaching him. He noticed it was a girl with brown curls, almond eyes, and a simple cream blouse with navy skirt though this time she was also wearing a little light brown jacket. Once the girl was about 3 feet from him she spoke.

"Um, hi. Dante wasn't it. I was walking out from my shift at work when I noticed you sitting here on the bench and, well, wanted to say hi" said Amber slightly blushing as her hand fiddled with the ends of her hair.

"That's very nice of you" Dante replied "I was actually on my way to look for a place to eat and then head to my apartment. I just happened to stop by this little park and thought a little breather would be good for me".

"Oh, really? If you aren't used to the area I could show some good places to eat?" Amber said, though a moment after she blushed happening to realize what she just had asked. Dante just smiled, very amused with the cute girl's reaction before replying "That sounds like a great idea. If you wouldn't mind Miss Amber, I would love to be shown around town and get something to eat, my treat." Dante finished with a smile. Amber's blush only deepened as she nodded and then added "Just Amber is fine. You already said I can call you Dante so it's only fair for you to use just my first name"

"Alright, then please Amber, lead the way" Dante said with a slightly cheeky grin. Amber just nodded and turned to start walking down the street, a severe blush across her face. Dante just followed as he grinned to himself, his thoughts musing at his current situation. '_Great getting shown around town and having dinner with a cute girl. I am already liking it around here. We'll all that's left is to wait out the week and get that damn initiation over with. This place is certainly going to be interesting._'


	3. New School, Explosions, and First Intros

**Author's Note: Hope all enjoy! Comment!Reviews!Feedback! All appreciated and welcomed!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Dante stepped off the transport along with a wave of new students as they excitedly made their ways towards the academy. Though he had managed to see the academy and grounds during his week of waiting Dante still felt impressed as he looked out at the looming structures. The open stone courtyard where most of the new students arrive, the actual academy's entrance behind a rather bold statue of hunters on a cliff edge overlooking a beowolf.

The entrance itself was grand with high archways made of stone and brick. Along the courtyard was an expanse of trees and grass that had a calming effect along with some lamp posts and occasional benches. As the group began to head in the direction of the entrance Dante decided to peel off and go relax by one of the nearby trees. He wasn't too interested in listening to what was probably going to be some dull opening speech addressing the new initiates about responsibility and upholding the academy image and so forth.

After all Dante wasn't here to exactly partake in activities to bring pride to Beacon unless having the best and probably _bloodiest _assassin around was something to boast about. So instead he just resigned himself to lounging in the shade of the tree and looking over the new initiates. Ozpin had said that he was expected to put up an image of a friendly transfer so might as well get a good read on the new arrivals before he tried to make any 'friends'. The first few waves didn't seem to have anything interesting. On occasion a random initiate would momentarily get his attention.

He saw some small girl in pink and white run circles around guy in green as he made his way to the entrance. His expression was stoic though from the look in his eyes, Dante could tell that he was amused and annoyed with the girl circling him. Then a few paces behind them another girl appeared. She was fairly tall, red hair, and what looked like Greek style armor. She walked with a strong gate, showing confidence and pride yet not too intimidating.

Dante noted the small show of muscle along her shoulders and legs '_This one has definitely seen a good amount of combat. I don't see scaring though some probably from competition mostly' _Dante thought to himself as the girl made her way past the statue and out of Dante's site.

Another transport arrived as Dante turned his attention away from the apparent Spartan and began unloading its occupants. Again mostly regular initiates that didn't really grab his attention though for some reason his nose started twitching. There was a fairly annoying sent present and it was starting to irritate him. '_Did someone puke or something? Guess I'll head out of here and find a quiet spot to rest up or something' _Dante thought as he began to get up.

As he was about to start heading out he heard some commotion. He turned just as a familiar girl in a red hood stumbled backwards into a trolley full of some luggage. As soon as she shook off her daze another girl made herself known as she approached the girl in red. She herself was dressed in white. Dress, jacket, tiara, boots, even the damn hair was white. Then the girl in red got up trying to help clean up her little mess as the one in white just kept up her little tantrum.

As they continued the girl in white began to shake around a small dust vail while going on about how its power, energy and so forth until the girl in red let out a sneeze. . . Dante stared with slightly widened eyes as fire, lighting, and ice created a little storm and then dissipated in an instant leaving both girls with a light coat of soot.

As the girls recovered the girl in white started an entire new tantrum while the girl in red seemed to start shying away. Then another girl with black hair and mainly black attire began to approach the two others holding another vial of dust in her hand. Once she was close enough to the two others she began speaking in a clear tone "Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, the most powerful and largest dust supplier in the world".

"Finally some recognition" Weiss replied with a look of smugness clear across her face. The look didn't last though as the girl in black continued "The same company known for their harsh treatment of faunus labor and questionable business partners."

"How dare you?!" replied the heiress. She then snatched the dust vail away from the girl in black and started walking off with an indignant 'humph'. The two girls left just watched as she walked away before the girl in red called out "I promise I'll make this up to you!" The heiress probably didn't hear or just ignored it as she kept walking. Then the girl in red turned to the other girl but she also was already walking already looking as she'd lost interest in the conversation.

The girl in red just dropped to her knees at that point and mumbled to herself "Welcome to Beacon". A moment later some blonde dude walked up to her with an outstretched hand which she took hoisting herself up. Dante kept watching their little exchange until his nose instantly caught the smell coming from the dude. Bringing is hand over his sensitive nose Dante figured out that he had been the source of that terrible puke smell and decided he'd had enough of this.

With one jump he ascended the tree and then began moving from tree to tree in a quickened pace towards the academy entrance. Not long after he arrived just outside the doors to the auditorium where most of the initiates were gathered. It looked like the headmaster hadn't even addressed them yet so Dante decided that hill just go back to one of the cliffs he'd found some days ago and enjoy the view while he waited for the little speech and formalities to be finished.

It took him roughly 5 minute to arrive at the site. It was a small way off from the campus grounds but close enough that he could still see the dorms and tower. He decided that it would be more comfortable in the nearby trees so he climbed up and leaned back against the branch as he looked out at the forest bellow the cliff. While enjoying the view Dante noticed a presence approaching him about 25 meters out around his 4 o'clock from behind him. He didn't detect any sort of hostility or aggressive intent from the person so he just pretended to not notice as he continued to stare out at the forest. Once the person was about 3 meters directly to his right they spoke up.

"Hello" said a girl. Dante turned his attention to the figure below him. She was an average height, straight black hair just falling short of her shoulders, dark blue eyes, and light complexion. She was wearing a dark, blue, long sleeve shirt that fit snuggly around her figure. Her skirt was black, reaching about mid-thigh, knee length black socks, and small dark blue boots.

Strapped to her hip was a whip with a few serrated edges along the end and what looked like a small dust compartment in the handle. As Dante noted her appearance the girl seemed to also take in his image as if she was judging whether he was worth speaking to or not. Looking like she was satisfied she began to speak.

"What is a new student like you doing here instead of in the auditorium like all the other initiates?" she asked.

Dante smirked as he responded "I could say the same for you miss. Why did you come out here to speak to me since you are obviously new here yourself? ".

"I noticed you walking away from the entrance and thought it would be more interesting to see what you were up to. It also seemed that you were also already familiar with the layout of the academy." She replied.

"I'm a transfer student and had already been shown around the campus before so I decided to skip out on the speech and relax here for a while" said Dante.

"Oh really?" replied the girl with a curious look. "I'm a transfer student too".

Dante gave a look at the girl, wondering how he should respond. He didn't know if she was a legitimate transfer student or possibly a new member to Shadow Ops. '_Well now that I think about it she seems to be a little older than the other students that were arriving earlier. Though there was one way that he could verify her identity' _he thought before he spoke up "Initiate, Domain Ghost: Call ID Silver"

Dante used the protocol Ozpin had taught him during one of his visiting. It was a code that stated a member's rank, domain or program association which for Beacon was Ghost, and his personal identification name given to him after his application.

The girl's eyes widened before she responded in kind "Initiate, Domain Ghost: Call ID Sapphire".

As she finished her reply Dante let out a sigh of relief before he leaned forward and slid off his perch and landed about a meter away from the girl. She eyed him as he stood up, a full four inches marking their height difference. Dante decided to be a little nicer and raised his hand before speaking "Dante, nice to meet you".

She gave him a small smile before taking a step forward to shake his hand and reply "Athena, pleasure to make you acquaintance Dante".

With the formalities out of the way Dante gave her another look over before he began speaking again. "So Athena, now that we know each what would you like to do?"

"I don't know. This is my first time on the campus and I'm not really sure what we are supposed to do until the initiation tomorrow".

Before Dante could reply both their scrolls sounded off letting them know that they had received messages. Taking her scroll out first Athena began to read the message out loud "Ghosts meet in the auditorium in exactly 1 minute. Your introduction and first task await."

Athena locked eyes with Dante before they both bolted back towards the meeting point. They arrived with 15 seconds to spare. As they entered the building they noticed that the initiates were still in the room, attention trained on the headmaster at the center of a stage.

As if on cue Ozpin began to speak "Now, initiates I would like to present to you this year's newest members of Beacon's Elite Slayer Corps. These hunters and huntresses are higher level students who for the most part have transferred to Beacon to be trained in more rigorous and dangerous methods to become part of the hunter elite. They are all already experienced in actual combat and field work within Vale and the other kingdoms. They will also serve as mentors for the students currently in their first years up to the third years."

". . ."

"The Slayer Corps only allows application every 2 years and only a limited amount of positions are offered. The minimal requirements for a Slayer applicant are 18 years old, 350 logged mission hours, tested in both armed and un-armed combat, as well as experienced with the use of dust in both combat and mundane uses." Ozpin paused for a moment before continuing his speech, his tone lower and colder.

"Though Beacon students can apply to be moved into the Slayer program, know that if accepted there is now turning back. To be a member of the Slayer Corps is to be fully recognized as a hunter or huntress prepared to fight at a moment's notice. The Slayers may be the elites but they are also the ones sent in to the worst scenarios. They face down horrors that none of you could imagine in your worst nightmares. For that reason I expect for all Beacon students to treat Slayers with respect and also practice caution before your ambitions begin to turn towards the Slayer program." With that final statement Ozpin began calling out the names of the 'Slayer Corps' to come up on stage and be presented to the newest initiates of Beacon.

Dante felt a little dazed at the turn of events. He wasn't really comfortable with being in front of large groups and preferred working from behind the shadows. Before his thoughts could piece together what to do he heard his name get called "Dante Argentum, please step forward".

Quickly shaking his head Dante looked at the stage with his name in display behind Ozpin. He then felt a nudge in his side. He turned to see Athena eyeing him and motioning for him to get on stage. He began to move forward going between the students that stood in front of him. He bumped into someone who had stepped in front of him and looked down to see silver eyes looking back at him.

It was the girl in red he had seen several times before. She looked at him for a moment unsure why he had suddenly run into her before her eyes widened in realization. She let out a small squeak before stepping to the side to let him pass. By then more students had noticed the small commotion and started looking at him. He decided to ignore the looks and kept moving forward, more students stepping aside for him to pass. When he was about 15 feet or so from the stage he looked up and realized he had been the first one called.

'_Dust damn it all_!' he thought '_Now everyone is going to be paying attention to me. Damn!' _With that thought Dante decided to simply jump up to the stage from a distance and get it over with. With one light hop he was already 15 or so feet in the air. He landed in a kneeling position with one hand on the floor and his back to the students. Then with deliberate motion he stood up with his back still to the students.

After about 3 seconds he slowly turned to face the students, a stern look across his face and hands clasped behind his back. He noticed the room had gone deftly quiet as all the students looked at him. Without missing a beat Ozpin began to call out other names. Though Dante wasn't really paying attention to the names he did catch one, "Athena Sapphirus, please come forward".

He turned to look at Athena as she approached the stage. When she was about the same distance Dante had been she looked him in the eyes with a playful smirk before she also jumped up to the stage and landed right in front of Dante. She then stood and took a place to his right. With her action Dante's expression changed to a small smile as his thoughts wandered '_Did she just flash all the students she jumped over? Hehe, I wonder what she might be wearing underneath. Could it be black or blue? Maybe a little more dynamic with red?' _

Athena looked up at Dante and gave him an amused smirk before whispering "Try and keep your thoughts clean. We just met after all. And if you're too busy trying to guess the answer is black with blue stripes".

Dante tried to stifle down his urge to laugh and instead decided to look back at the students observing them. They were for the most part quiet looking at the Slayers lined up before them. Dante noticed that Ozpin had just finished calling names and in total there were eight of them. Once they had all been on stage for about a minute Ozpin dismissed the students with instructions to head to the ballroom for the night and be ready for their initiation in the morning. As they shuffled out of the building Ozpin turned to address the Slayers.

"Slayers, your initiations will take place after the newest students complete theirs. For now you are to take stations along the ballroom and monitor the students there. This is your first unofficial task, meet and greet the students. Learn names, faces, and if you can try to discern their personalities and character traits. If you are to be mentors you must become familiar with the student body as well as test your ability at learning from observation about the individuals that surround you. You are dismissed."

As Ozpin finished the other Slayers dispersed, most not looking too enthusiastic at their first task. Dante decided that the best course of action was to get changed into his sleep wear and had straight for the ballroom to see if he could find a comfortable spot to relax. Dante then felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning he found a pouting Athena looking up at him. Unsure of why he was getting that look he decided to start "Yes?"

"You know, since you are already familiar with the campus you could at least offer to show a girl the way to the ballroom" Athena said in a huff.

Dante wasn't exactly sure why she wanted to follow him but he didn't really care so he just nodded before motioning for her to follow. He made his way to the locker rooms first, planning on changing now rather than later in the night. His clothes was just a simple sleeveless grey shirt, his ever present wraps and some black shorts along with a small pillow and a hoodie under his arm.

He politely waited for Athena who arrived in a small blue tank top and black shorts with white dots also carrying a small sleeping bag under her arm. They soon arrived at the ballroom already full of students in their pajamas. Some guys were wrestling or flexing, a few small groups of girls chatting together, and a few students lying in their sleeping bags. They made their way across the floor as some students began to whisper pointing at them.

They probably would have been silent altogether if they had known that Dante could hear their whispers very easily. Most of the comments were on their appearance, probably thinking that they looked too young to be such elite class hunters, though altogether it amused Dante since he knew that you should never judge a person's skill based on appearance alone. Once they arrived at the base of the stairs to a balcony over their heads Dante sat down to look back at the students wandering around. Athena sat beside him looking around for anything to entertain her. Finding nothing she looked back at Dante before speaking.

"So Dante, what do we do now?"

"I think we should do as instructed and try to . . . socialize" Dante replied through a forced smile.

"Ok, with whom then? All I see is a few guys checking me out and some girls snickering over a few of the cute ones."

"Well, you could tease some of those guys. Maybe nock them down a few feet or embarrass some of them. That would be pretty funny and honestly I could use a good laugh." Dante said with a slight grin.

Athena put her finger to her chin as if considering his idea. While she did that Dante caught a small ruckus to his right. He turned and saw that it was the girl in red caught between an arguing Weiss and a busty blonde. He also noticed the girl in black from before siting with her back to the wall reading a book or trying to over the bickering girls in front of her. Dante felt a little irritated at their pointless bickering a so with a grunt stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Athena, still sitting.

"I'm going over there" Dante pointed to the group of girls "They are getting annoying some I'm going to quiet them down."

"Um, ok" Athena replied with an amused tone and raised eyebrow.

Dante ignored her tone and started walking to the girls. As he approached some nearby students got quiet and stared at him with looks of curiosity. Once he was close to the girls he cleared his throat as to announce his presence. The four girls turned to him with looks of surprise, probably unsure as to whey one of the Slayers had decided to speak to them. With their attention fixed on him Dante decided to speak up.

"You girls are getting a little loud. Some students are trying to sleep. What seems to be the problem here?"

"Um, sorry sir" the red girl answered first.

"Yes, please excuse me. It won't happen again sir" said Weiss.

"Um, yeah, sorry" blurted out the blonde.

The girl in black stayed silent though she kept looking up at him unsure of whether she was expected to apologize. Dante looked at her before letting out a sigh and running his hand through his hair. He knew he should thought of something better to say before coming over to reprimand them. Luckily for him the little girl in red fixed that quickly enough.

"Um hi, I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose" said Ruby as she stretched out her hand.

The other girls gave her mixed looks at her actions. Weiss looked appalled at how casually Ruby had introduced herself to one of their superiors. The girl in black seemed more curious then anything. The blonde's face just said good luck. '_Am I that scary?' _Dante thought to himself. He let out another sigh before he shook her hand.

"Hi Ruby, I'm Dante" he said as he gave her a small smile to easy away any tensions. He looked at the other girls before continuing "And you girls would be?"

"I'm Weiss Schnee sir" stated Weiss.

"The names Yang. Yang Xiao Long" said the blonde.

"Blake Belladonna sir," replied the girl in black.

"Just Dante will be fine. I don't really like being addressed as sir, it makes me feel old."

"Um, how old are you?" Ruby asked as her hesitation began to fade. Now all four girls were looking at him with curiosity rather than apprehension.

"I'm actually just recently turned 20."

"Really, you looked a little older, like 25 maybe," said Yang.

"How rude. Don't go assuming people's ages like that," Said Weiss in an irritated manner.

Dante watched as they began to argue again before he clear his throat effectively silencing them. Then Blake spoke up for the first time.

"What do you think of your roles as mentors?" she asked. The other three snapped their heads back at him waiting to see how he would answer the question.

"Honestly, I think it could be an interesting experience. I could definitely teach some students a thing or two, especially if it's about combat training or tracking."

"Really? What kind of combat? What's your weapon? What's the biggest Grimm you've tracked?" Ruby bombarded him with questions. Dante held up his hand to calm her before he answered.

"Easy there. I specialized in unarmed kickboxing, mainly Muay Thai, as well as single and dual-wielding weapons. My weapon is a straight katana and the biggest Grimm I've tracked is probably a Goliath."

"A what?" all four girls asked.

"It's a high level Grimm that you probably won't learn about until your later years." Dante said.

"Oh, ok. . . Does your weapon having anything special to it?" asked Ruby, an odd twinkle in her eye.

"That would be a complete spoiler so no telling" relied Dante. He felt a little bad watching Ruby deflate from his reply but continued on "Ok, now I want you four to head to bed. Initiation starts early and you'll need your rest."

With that the group split up, each heading to their respective sleeping bags and Dante returned to the stairs where Athena was eyeing him with a large grin across her face. As he plopped down beside her she began her questioning.

"Who were those girls? Looking at the produce before its even ripe are you?"

"No, their cute but I just wanted some peace and quiet. I'm actually tired myself so I was thinking of dozing off for a bit." Dante replied in a dry tone as he adjusted his pillow on the floor and put on his hoodie. She gave him another look before she spoke.

"Ok, but why are you putting on that hoodie? Didn't you bring a blanket or something?"

"No, blankets get in the way if I need to react to something and the hoodie lets me block out the light better."

With that he began to nod off. His last thoughts trained on what tomorrow might bring and who might become his partner.


	4. So Begins the Initiation

**Author's Note: Same as before, I hope you all enjoy! Any form of feedback is appreciated and welcomed.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

The next morning was rather noisy for Athena. She had managed to fall asleep an hour or so after Dante but couldn't really get any proper sleep since she kept waking every few hours due to the presence of so many others snoring, some talking, and others moving around probably going to the restrooms. She had looked over at Dante as he slept, eyes obscured by the hoodie, as he seemed to sleep without a care in the world. More than once she had been tempted to poke him to see if he would wake up but she could never bring herself to do it.

She didn't want to risk angering her possibly new friend so she just began to fiddle with her hair until she fell asleep again. After multiple repetitions of that cycle she finally managed to properly fall asleep only it lasted for about an hour before some alarm sounded off signaling for the students to wake up and prepare for their initiations. She could only moan in irritation as she tried to drown out the sound of moving students with her pillow.

'_Why? I finally get some shot eye and it's already morning!? What time is it anyway?' _She poked her head out from under her pillow to look at a clock on the far wall '_7 o'clock! This is ridiculous, I spent nearly 10 hours shuffling around instead of sleeping? This initiation will be the death of me!'_

With her attention fixed on the wall Athena had failed to notice that Dante was now awake and leaning in beside her. Caught by surprise, Athena let out a gasp as she pulled back trying to stand but failing as she got tangled with her sleeping bag. She fell back on her rear as Dante let out a light chuckle, amusement clear across his face.

"That's why I sleep in my hoodie rather than a blanket or sleeping bag." He said.

"Hey, you are the one who startled me!" Athena replied with a pointed finger. She wasn't very happy with the fact the he could get so close without her even noticing regardless of the fact that she was sleepy. Dante just kept smiling as he offered her a hand. She took it but still gave Dante a pouting look.

"We should get going, I can smell the food from that cafeteria. Let's go before all the good food is gone" said Dante as he picked up his pillow.

Athena kept up her pout but did as he instructed gathering he pillow and sleeping bag. They quickly dropped their things off in the locker rooms and changing before heading out to the cafeteria. As they walked Athena noted that instead of a black jacket, Dante had switched to a silver jacket with black trimmings and red markings along the chest, shoulders, and arms. It looked good and matched his shirt, wraps, and jeans better than the black one from yesterday.

As her eyes trailed over his frame she got a good look at his back, her eyes widening as she inspected the design. It was a circle, about 6 inches across, filled with silver and red. The red ran the internal lining of the circle with little tendrils crawling towards the center. The circle also had to black slits designed on it. One vertical and the other horizontal meeting together at the center as if a cross hair for a rifle, about 4 inches each. There were also small black notches along the perimeter of the circle spaced between the points of the odd crosshair, four in total. Then on the outside of the circle were 2 black wings curling along the outer edges of the circle. To top it all off the outside of the wings and part of the circle were trimmed with red in a murky pattern, some tendrils leaking out away from the circle.

As Athena stared she could help but feel a shiver run down her spine. For a moment she looked at the design ignoring the wings and disturbing thought came to her. The design looked like a silver coin had been cut to form the slits and nicks, then the coin had been dropped in a pool of blood and the blood had begun to absorb the coin as tendrils extended themselves towards it's center. The design was ominous, invoking a sense of fear, fear that Athena had not felt in quite some time.

Too distracted by her thoughts Athena didn't even notice they had arrived at the cafeteria. Dante turned to her before speaking "Are you ok, you have been a little quiet on the way here?"

Athena did a double take before she responded "What? Oh sorry, I was just looking at the design on your back. I-Is that your mark?"

"Yeah, it is"

Athena stared at him trying to get a better read on him but his expression didn't give anything away. After a moment or so Dante turned walking through the entrance to the cafeteria heading straight for the food line. Athena let out a sigh as she followed suite grabbing a tray and making her way down the line. Dante grabbed an apple, some pancakes, bacon, and a large cup of coffee with cream.

Athena herself decided to go light and grabbed some toast with jam, an orange, and a glass of milk. They made their way to a clear table to eat. Athena decided that sitting beside Dante might annoy him so she sat across from him. The two ate in silence for a few minutes until Athena decided to break the silence.

"So Dante, what do you think they will have us do in the initiation?"

"Probably some tasks that test our resilience, stealth, and combat ability. Maybe have us track down some marked target and eliminate them without being detected or something."

"Oh" was the only thing Athena could say.

She turned down to look at her finished plate. She felt silly with her question, of course they would be tested in stealth, which was the whole reason they had joined Shadow Ops in the first place. Now she didn't know how to continue the conversation and Dante didn't look like he was really interested anyway. As Athena began to sulk, Dante cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up to see him giving her a small smile before he began to speak.

"Don't be too worried about the test. You are probably just as well trained and prepared as I am for this. I'm sure you'll do fine"

"I know, I'm just more nervous about the whole find partners and form a team thing" she said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be ok with whoever you end up with, after all you are very nice and they will like you right off the bat."

Athena felt a light blush appear at his compliment, she wasn't very used to any form of praise and the fact that Dante, who she had assumed she had annoyed with her pestering, was the one being nice. She smiled back and after a moment with her confidence restored she tried to make a conversation.

"Is there anyone in particular you would want to pair up with?" she asked.

Dante arched an eyebrow before answering "I don't really have much of an opinion to be honest. I don't really have much experience with teams or partners so as long as the other person is capable I won't have any complaints."

Athena felt a little saddened at his response '_Great, so that means he doesn't particularly want to be my partner either. Just my luck. I looked at the others Ozpin had called up but none of them looked particularly interesting. I had tried to talk to one of them before I saw Dante and decided to follow him but that guy just tried to hit on me. What was his name again? . . . Oh right, Crato. Well I hope I don't partner with him.' _

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a girl's voice right beside her. She turned to see the girl in red from last night that Dante had talked to. She was asking something to Dante.

"Hi Dante, already finished breakfast huh. Are you excited for initiation?" the girl said. Athena turned to Dante as he downed the last of his coffee before he responded.

"Hey Ruby, yeah I got here early to get the hot servings and not really. I just hope this initiation is something interesting. Where are your friends?"

"Who?" Ruby replied.

"Yang, Blake, and Weiss." Dante said.

"Ohh, well I don't know what Blake or Weiss are up to, but my sis Yang was changing while I came here to get a quick breakfast. Our initiation starts soon anyway."

"Sis huh, I wouldn't have noticed with the different last names. Well, we are going to head out. You never know if we might be needed for something so see yah and good luck today." Dante said as he stood up from the table. Athena followed him out as she began questioning him.

"So those were the girls from last night right?"

"Yeah, after I told them to quiet down they introduced themselves and asked me a few questions" Dante replied.

"Like what?"

"Opinion on being a mentor, what could I teach them, weapon details and the biggest grimm I've tracked."

"Oh" Athena said before becoming curious herself "What were your answers?"

"That I thought being a mentor could be interesting, I could teach them a lot about hand to hand combat, that I have a straight edged katana, and that the biggest grimm was a Goliath."

"But that doesn't really explain your weapon. I'm really curious myself honestly. Could you tell me what it is?" Athena asked as her eyes lowered to look at the black sheath on Dante's hip.

Dante just put his finger to his chin as if contemplating before answering "Nope, still not telling, no spoilers" he finished with a grin.

Athena pouted to that and was about to say something along the lines of 'You show me yours I'll show you mine' but then both their scrolls sounded off. Dante quickly pulled his out and read the message out loud.

"Slayers, meet at the cliffs overlooking the Emerald forest in 5 minutes."

Dante gave Athena a look before he turned in the direction of the cliffs. They arrived in a few minutes as the others appeared around them. Once they were in a line in front of Ozpin he began to speak.

"Welcome Slayers. I called you here to begin your initiations-"

"Wait what? Didn't you say our initiations were after the first years?" a blonde guy asked.

After looking him over Athena realized it was Crato. He was a rather large built man, about 6 foot with long blonde hair that fell around his cheeks and ears giving him a slight surfer look. He had clear blue eyes and a very light complexion. He was wearing sort of white hoodie with the hood pulled back. He had dark gray jeans with red shoes, a strap over his shoulders holding 2 large double edge swords with extended handles across his back. Each blade had one flat edge and one serrated edge. With his sleeves pulled back to his elbows Athena could also see his forearms. One had a tattoo of 2 black bands around his forearm. His right arm had a metal bracer that connected to a fingerless glove. The glove itself was grey while the bracer was a mix of red markings with a dark grey as the main color. That bracer also looked like it housed a retractable blade judging by the slight bulges along it length.

Before any others could speak up Ozpin spoke.

"That is simple Mister Jofur. I lied about the time of your initiations. Your real initiation runs in parallel with the first years." Ozpin said before he looked at the others waiting to see if there would be any more interruptions. No one made a sound so Ozpin continued.

"Your initiation will be as follows. You will each be given a name of an initiate at random. You will only be supplied with the name so I hope you went and learned a few before coming here because if not you will be in quite the struggle. Once the initiates are sent into the forest with their own directions you will each jump in after them and find the person with the corresponding name. Once found you shall track that initiate without allowing them to detect your presence. You will tail them until they find their own partners. You shall then become partnered with the other's tracker and continue to track the duos together. The initiates will be given the task of heading to a temple at the north end of the forest to collect relics placed there. You will observe which relic your duo collects and then stay in the vicinity of the temple and wait for the first years to leave. Once they have left your area, you will gather in the temple and await further instruction. Any questions?"

" . . ."

"Good, now conceal yourselves in the vegetation behind you and observe the first years as they arrive."

With that everyone quickly hid themselves. Athena turned to Dante but where he had been was now just an empty space. Confused Athena looked around but couldn't spot him, then a leaf fell on her nose. She looked up to see a grinning Dante looking down at her, most of his body concealed behind the trunk of the tree. '_How the heck did he get up there so fast?' _Athena though before making her way up to meet him. Once she had firm footing and was hidden from view she turned to look at Dante, his grin still present.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way but that was adorable as you looked for me all confused" Dante said now with a complete shit-eating grin. Athena did the only sensible think and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Easy there, it was a little jock is all." He said as he rubbed his shoulder in mock hurt. Athena just pouted, now embarrassed at his comment. Just then their scrolls sounded off as they received their targets names. Athena looked at her name and immediately deflated. '_Weiss Schnee, who is that?' _She turned to Dante who seeming to be staring at his apparent target's name, he didn't look worried or excited. Letting her curiosity get the better of her she asked

"Whose name did you get?"

"One Ruby Rose it seems" was his reply before he turned to her "You?"

"Weiss Schnee" she replied.

"Do you even know who that is?" Dante asked.

"Not a clue, I mean the name definitely sounds familiar and everyone knows the name 'Schnee' at least but I don't know what this girl might look like"

"She was the one with white hair and the light blue nightgown form last night. I talked to her alongside Ruby and the others" Dante said.

Athena looked at him as if he were a savior. He hand just saved her the trouble of running around trying to get the student's identities straight without getting caught. Now she had a clear idea of who to track.

"Oh right, you asked about them at breakfast. I'm glad you at least got to learn some names last night or not this would have been trouble."

"Don't worry about it" Dante said.

Athena was going to continue but then Dante hand clamped her mouth. He gave her a glance before pointing down. Some of the initiates had begun to line up below them preparing for Ozpin and now Glynda Goodwitch to give them their instructions. As they lined up Athena made note of Weiss and any details she could spot that might make it easier to track her in the forest. She observed the design of her boots and what kind of footprints they would leave. Satisfied with what she had she then looked at Dante's target, Ruby.

The girl seemed rather small with an odd rectangular box strapped to her lower back. She looked too young to be here but then again covers seldom matched the content of their pages. Athena continued to look down the line of initiates as Ozpin and Glynda addressed them before they began to launch off the cliff. Athena watched as one by one they were sent into the sky. Once the last was airborne Athena began to move forward but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Dante observing the initiates as they sped through the air while he spoke.

"Wait for them to land. It will be easier to reach them without being detected if you have a good idea of where they landed. If you move to soon one of they might spot you before they get into the trees. That would be a lousy way to get detected before you even begin the test." Dante said in a low, emotionless tone.

Athena looked at him wondering how much actual tracking experience he had. She had done tracking here and there but must had been tailing a target around a town or city and then quietly finish them. The way Dante said it without even breaking his eyes away from the initiates was like an experienced hunter who knew exactly how to get to his prey without them ever becoming aware that they were caught. The look in his eyes was almost primal, focused and unyielding. After a few moments Dante removed his hand from her shoulder and dropped out of the tree. Athena followed him down and then walked over near the edge before speaking.

"What are you going to do know?" She asked.

She herself had seen where Weiss had landed more or less and was now thinking of how best to jump off the cliff and reach her as soon as possible. The others also appeared, a few immediately sprinting off the cliff and jumping towards the trees. Dante just let out a small grunt as he moved forward. He then looked over his shoulder before giving her a quick reply.

"Hunting"

And with that he just stepped over the cliff without hesitation. Athena took a moment to process what had happened. '_Did he just step off the cliff edge without even thinking of a plan!? That doesn't make sense! Falling straight down won't give him a chance to adjust to any nearby trees or even control his fall. Not to mention that the ground right below the cliff is almost completely solid rock with minimal vegetation. Is he stupid?' _

Athena's thoughts raced as she tried to make sense of his actions. She snapped out of it soon enough as she noticed the others making their ways off the cliff, most resorting to lunging of the cliff aimed at the larger trees to get some forms of footholds in the direction of whoever they had to track. Athena shook her head before she took a breath and began to run at the edge before kicking off towards an area with multiple trees.

As her hand made its way to her whip Athena could only think '_I hope he lands ok.'_


	5. Relics and a Battle Royale

**Author's Note: Chapter 5, the real get go for the anticipated initiation. As always, I hope you enjoy reading. Feedback appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Dante was excited. After receiving the name of his target he had instantly become far more interested in this initiation. He had seen Ruby in action and hoped he could get a good look at her skills when facing down Grimm. The moment all the initiates had fallen below the tree line he began forming a plan to track and follow Ruby. He knew that she was fast and would probably dash off towards anyone she knew.

With that in mind Dante planned to get a ground trail as soon as possible and sprint towards her direction though he would stay in the trees since it would allow him to avoid any other wandering eyes. So after thought out his plan he just gave Athena a quick answer before stepping off the cliff.

Now he was falling straight down. If someone had seen him they would have thought he was just casually waiting to arrive on the floor. He had an almost bored look on his face with his arms crossed in front of his chest, feet straight out below him, hair flapping up as he fell at terminal velocity. He looked down as the ground got closer '_Let see, 3 . . . 2 . . . 1.' _

He landed on his feet creating a crater 6 feet across and 1 foot deep with a sizable boom sound echoing across the forest. As the dust began to clear Dante observed his surroundings before taking in a deep breath. He could smell traces of the initiates and after a moment picked out Ruby's scent. '_Roses and . . . cookies?' _With Dante shook his head at the slight ridiculousness of the scent before he leaned down into a crouch.

'_Now this is where the fun begins' _He thought as he took another breath, this time filtering out other scents and sounds focusing on Ruby's scent and the direction it was coming from. He then began to tighten his leg muscles, cracks forming under the balls of his feet and his palms before releasing his grip sending him forward as if shot out of a cannon.

He lunged towards a low hanging branch of a large tree before placing one foot on the trunk and kicking off again to another tree. He repeated this process as he moved through the forest not making a sound, on alert for any of the other initiates or Grimm that might happen to be in his path. He passed over a small pack of beowolves but was gone before they even knew he was there.

After a minute or so he heard the distinct sound of boots crushing twigs and leaves off to his 1 o'clock combined with a smell of roses. Dante smirked to himself '_Found her' _before he turned straight towards his target. In another 10 seconds he spotted her running below him. He matched her pace but kept his distance to roughly 15 meters in case she suddenly stopped and looked around. If she did he would need the space to hide himself or risk her spotting him.

They kept the pace for another minute or so before Ruby skidded to a halt. Dante latched on to the tree had had been about to jump off and looked to see what had made Ruby stop. In front of her was a girl in white. '_Weiss?' _he thought as he continued to observe the two newly formed partners. Weiss seemed to be in a state of shock before turning around and walking away. Ruby called out to her saying that they could be partners but Weiss didn't stop.

'_Well that's just rude' _was all Dante could think. He stayed there watching Ruby sulk feeling a small pang of sadness. He wouldn't admit it but he was a terrible softy for adorable things, usually kids, puppies, and the occasional cute girl. The problem here was that Ruby seemed to have all these aspects at the same time and Dante was finding it difficult to not try and comfort her. Luckily for him Weiss reappeared and grabbed Ruby by the hood of her cloak before dragging her off mumbling about this not meaning that they are friends.

Dante was about to head out following them before a thought occurred to him. '_Wait, if Weiss is here then shouldn't Athena be here too?' _Dante surveyed the area again until he caught another familiar scent. It was a mix of lavender and morning dew. He then inspected the area behind the girls until he noticed a slight movement along the ground behind them.

After a moment Athena poked her head out from behind a tree looking at the girls before dashing to her next spot. If they weren't being tested for stealth Dante would have laughed at the way she moved and poked her head out reminding a lot of how a prairie dog would appear from one tunnel and then disappear before popping out of another.

He got a bright idea and began stalking behind her, slowly creeping closer until he was just above her. He lunged down and snatched her up, one arm around her waist and the other hand covering her mouth before jumping back into the trees in an instant. As he landed he noticed a knife was up against his gut aimed at his stomach. '_That would have been a painful injury' _he thought to himself.

He knew that a knife like that couldn't have been able to cut his skin even without him using aura shielding but he was still impressed with Athena's reaction time. He then turned his head to look at Athena who had a very annoyed look to her face. He could even feel her frown through his hand. He just grinned at her before removing his hand though he was still holding on to her waist.

After a moment Athena began "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? More importantly, are you stupid!? I could have killed you idiot!"

'_You'll have to do better than a little knife,' _Dante thought before replying, "Easy, just having some fun is all, besides, I snuck up on **you**. You should be more aware of your surrounding unless you want the hunter to become the hunted."

"Fine, doesn't mean you should go snatching people up like that," she said.

"You don't seem to have a problem with our current position though" he teased.

Athena looked down at his arm still wrapped around her waist. She instantly scoffed before shoving him off with a faint blush. He just chuckled before putting up both his hands as if surrendering. Athena just pouted at him before turning back to where there targets had been. Sadly they had disappeared from sight.

"Great, you scared me half to death and then let the girls get away. Can you try to take this seriously" she asked as she rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"Oh come on. You'll get wrinkles if you worry all the time. And I know exactly where the girls are."

"How" she asked. From what she could tell the foot prints lead into some far off bushes. They would have to head back down to find the new trail if they wanted to catch up to the girls.

"I can smell them," was all Dante said. Athena looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"You can?" she asked, disbelief evident in her voice.

He rolled his eyes before replying "Yes, now let's get going."

Athena nodded and was about to jump down to the ground before Dante stopped her. She looked at him as he shook his head.

"The ground is too open and if we use your tracking method we won't catch them. It will be faster moving through the trees with less chance of us being spotted."

"What do you expect me to do? I don't have much experience moving through trees like you," she asked.

"We will have to fix that later on. For now I'll handle it" and with that Dante picked her up bridal style and jumped to the next tree before she could say a word.

Even with Athena in his arms Dante could move soundlessly through the forest. It was clear that he spent a great deal of time trekking through heavily wooded areas as they soon spotted the girls again. They were surrounded by a pack of beowolves and it seemed that the duo had accidentally set fire to the forest. They scurried away as the beowolves milled around in confusion. Dante stopped and waited for the girls to get out of site.

"Why are you stopping?" Athena asked. "We are going to lose sight of them again"

"I can find them again, besides, we can't leave this fire to spread. I'm going to put it out and take care of some of these beowolves. You can stay here in the tree or help me," Dante said as he set her down.

"I'll help after all I probably won't catch up to them without your help."

With that the both jumped down to clear out the beowolves before dealing with the fire. Dante lunged forward to the first beowolf connecting a left jab with its cheek. A crunch was heard as the beowolf's body careened across the clearing before slamming into a tree and dropped to the ground limp as a fish. He then turned to another beowolf as it lunged at him.

He used a right uppercut landing right below the grimm's chin effectively decapitating it. Dante continued in this fashion moving in a blur as he eliminated each beowolf with a single punch or kick. Athena on her end had pulled out her whip and was began slicing any beowolf that approached with a practiced crack of her whip. The pack didn't last for longer then 30 seconds, their bodies littering the clearing. With the grimm finished they both turned their attention to the few trees that had caught ablaze.

"How do you want to do this?" asked Athena. Dante shrugged before replying "I thought I would knock the trees down and then kick up a wave of dirt to smother the flames."

"Mm, knocking them down in a pile would be good but I don't think you'll need to kick up the dirt to put it out. Just knock them down, I can handle it from there."

With that Dante jogged over to the nearest flaming tree and turned to see which direction to knock it down. Once he got a good angle he placed his palm on the trunk and pushed. The bark splintered around his hand as he forced the wood to give way making the tree topple as the roots uprooted themselves. He did the same thing with the other 3 trees that were alight forming an odd looking pyre.

Once he finished Athena pulled out a small vial of blue water dust from a pouch she had on her hip opposite to her whip. She uncorked the vial and stuck her thumb into it. Then with her other hand open, facing up, she started to flare her aura. A dark blue hue began to form around her as a crystal formed in her hand. The crystal was more or less see through as if formed from glass but had a glowing blue core.

It was about 3 inches long and an inch wide with a similar cut to the dust crystals found in common dust shops. Dante watched this all with polite interest as Athena's aura faded, the crystal complete in her hand. She then corked the vial of dust and put it back in her pouch before turning to Dante.

"What?" she asked.

"Was that your semblance?" he asked.

"Yes. It's called Crystal Genesis. I can generate a number of different crystals with varying shapes and forms. Depending on my aura level I can generate larger crystals to form projectiles or even small blades. As a special trick, if I have some dust I can make a crystal with the properties of that particular dust. I can even combine up to 3 different kinds of dust at any one time." Athena explained with 'modesty'.

Dante gave her an inquisitive look as if expecting her to continue.

"I use these homemade crystals with my whip. The whip absorbs the properties making me far more versatile in combat. Not to mention it lets me carry a great variety of dust without needing to worry about running out since it's my aura that supplies the crystal."

As she said this she placed the crystal into the slot at the back of the crystal walking towards the burning pile of trees. She stood about 5 feet away from the pile before she cracked the whip over her head. She brought it down trailing water as she split the trees apart. With every crack the wood was split to pieces as the water coming off the whip smothered the flames out.

Once the fire was out, Athena removed the crystal out of its slot and held it up. Its core was now dark, having its energy used up. Athena tossed the crystal aside shattering the moment it hit the ground dissolving into nothing. '_Well that's a very handy ability' _Dante thought as Athena came over to him.

"So, are we going after the girls or what?" she asked.

"Yeah, it seems their scents are coming from the . . . west? Hm, I'm pretty sure Ozpin said the temple was to the north. Looks like they aren't good with directions. Remind me to recommend them a compass after we are done with this. Getting lost in the field is an easy way to fail and possibly get into worse trouble then how you started." As he finished Dante picked up Athena again. She stared at him with her cheeks puffed out.

"Is this going to be a usual with you? It's a little embarrassing."

"Well until you can keep up yes. Don't worry I can teach you some pointers in woodland travel later on."

To stop her from giving him any more grief Dante burst forward and started moving through the trees in search of the mismatched duo yet again.

* * *

Crato was bored out of his mind. After being given his target name he knew this would be a pathetic task. '_Jaune Arc, why the hell did I get the joke of an initiate' _He had first seen the guy when he was getting his twin blades back in the locker rooms. The guy had tried and failed miserably at flirting with some white haired chick before another chick, a redhead, threw her spear at the guy impaling him to the wall by the hood of his hoodie.

Though he wanted to see how this little event would turn out he then got the message from Ozpin to gather at the cliffs. When he had arrived Ozpin let them know that it was time for their initiation. Crato had quickly questioned what he meant but Ozpin shut him up soon enough. So as Ozpin explained their objective Crato looked over some of the other 'Slayers'. He spotted the guy in silver, Dante I think, at end of the line.

Right beside him was the chick he had hit on the day before. Then next was a wolf faunus. He was about 5'10, sturdy looking build though not as large as himself. He had grey hair cut to a short length that ended in black tips, his wolf ears also ending in the same fashion, mostly grey with black tips. He was wearing what looked almost like a business suit, mainly dark grey with a light blue trim. His undershirt was white and open at the top since he didn't have a tie. He also had black gloves over his hands and his dress shoes had steel toe endings.

His face was also slightly serious though his light blue eyes had a kinder expression to them. Crato couldn't spot any weapons on him so he guessed this guy probably fought unarmed. Before he could turn to look at the others to his left Ozpin told them to conceal themselves and prepare to follow their assigned targets. Crato quickly ducked back and hide behind the base of a tree to wait for the initiates.

After the directions were given he observed where Jaune Arc was and where he was headed after being launched. Crato sighed to himself when he saw how Arc flew through the air in an uncontrolled manner screaming like a little girl. After most of the initiates had landed into the forest he made his way to the edge of the cliff. It was a good ways down so he started to look for any ways that could let him slow his descent. He spotted a sizable tree bellow him and decided it was his ticket. So he backed up a few spaces and then charged off the cliff.

The fall lasted for about 8 seconds before he got near the tree trunk. Once in reach he pulled out both his blades and impaled them on the trunk as he slide to a stop about half way down the tree. He then dislodged his blades and fell the rest of the way down. With a thud, he then stood up and prepared to make his way to where he saw Jaune yet again get speared to a tree. Before he started walking he heard a crashing sound somewhere near the base of the cliff far off to his right.

'_What the? Did someone drop a cannonball or something? Whatever, gotta get to Jaune before a Grimm eats him or something.' _With that thought Crato bolted in Jaune's direction. He reached him in a few minutes and hide himself in some bushes to avoid being seen. He sat around for another minute or so while Jaune tried to pry the spear out of the tree. Then a girl in white appeared from behind some bushes before she looked up at Jaune.

Without breathing a word she just turned around and left as Jaune gave her a weak wave. '_Cold' _Crato thought as he kept waiting for something to happen. Luckily his prayers were answer when another girl, the red head appeared. She walked over to the tree and giggled as she asked him if there was still room for 'Team Jaune'. Then she helped him get down and they started to make their way towards the northern temple. As he was about to head out behind them Crato felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around, both blades drawn, to see the wolf faunus from before with his hands raised.

"What the hell?! Do you have death wish? I could have killed you dumbass," Crato said.

"Sorry, just wanted to let you know I was here is all, partner," replied the faunus.

"Partner?" Crato asked before he remembered, Ozpin said that they would partner with whoever was tracking the other member of each pairing. With some of his adrenaline dropping Crato sheathed his blades before speaking.

"Names Crato. Crato Jofur. And you are?"

"Lucian Ze'ev, at your service," the faunus replied as he stretched a hand out. Crato took it, not wanting to be rude. "So I'm guessing the redhead was your target?"

"Pyrrha Nikos, 4 time tournament champion and resident celebrity," replied Lucian.

"Damn, at least you got an interesting target. I'll got the wannabe knight" Crato said as he scanned around. "By the way I'm pretty sure we just lost them."

"No we haven't, I can smell them and hear their footsteps" said Lucian.

"Oh right, faunus usually have amazing senses"

"That's correct. Most faunus, aside from having near perfect night vision, have very sensitive ears, noses, and sometimes extra senses. Especially the predatory faunus." Lucian explained.

"Cool, now if you would . . ." Crato gestured for Lucian to lead the way to which he obliged. He turned to Crato with a smirk "Try and keep up" before dashing off. '_Oh he wants to race, __**ha-ha**__, bring it' _Crato thought as he bolted after Lucian.

The two caught up to their targets in a minute and they trailed them at a walking pace. Aside from occasional small talk they trailed the first years in relative silence. Then the initiates arrived at some cave thinking it was the temple. Crato and Lucian climbed up to the top of the rock outcropping just above the cave entrance and watched as Jaune got to work making a torch.

And that leads to Crato's current state of boredom. Jaune had just finished making the torch and the pair was walking into the cave. Crato just stared up at the sky wondering how long it would take them to realize they were in the wrong place and would leave the cave. Lucian just looked out over the forest listening in to whatever his ears caught. Crato couldn't help but smirk at how funny Lucian's ears looked as they twitched and swiveled around to any noise they caught.

After what seemed like ages Crato sat up as a girlish scream coming from the cave. They both looked at each other before peering over the edge of the outcrop and look at the cave entrance. Shortly after a tremor followed as Pyrrha ran out of the cave with a Deathstalker on her tail and coincidentally Jaune was hanging for dear life from the scorpion like monster's tail. With a screech the Deathstalker swung its tail forward launching Jaune like a catapult into the trees.

With that Pyrrha looked at the grimm before running away after her partner. The Deathstalker then started to chase after her. Crato felt like he should help, after all, a Deathstalker was hardly a warm up for him but he felt a hand stop his arm from reaching for his blades. Crato looked over to Lucian as he pulled back his hand before he spoke.

"We can't intervene. This is there test. If they fail or even lose their lives we have to remain in the shadows." He said with a sad tone in the end. They both looked at where the Deathstalker had disappeared after the duo.

"We still have to follow them though" Lucian continued before he stepped off the ledge and landed at the cave entrance. Crato sighed as he followed suite and then the pair ran after the grimm. '_Lets hope they make it out ok' _Crato thought as they followed the path of destruction left by the grimm.

* * *

"Do you still see them?"

"Yeah, they are a little ahead but it looks like they are still headed north."

"Seriously, a Nevermore!? Who thinks up an idea like riding one of those?"

"Well, one of those two did so there is no helping it. At least you're fast enough to keep up with a Nevermore while jumping through trees and caring a passenger no less."

". . ."

Dante was officially annoyed. They had to clean up a beowolf pack and put out a forest fire following Ruby and Weiss. Now they were chasing them or more accurately the Nevermore the duo were riding while still trying to remain hidden from any other initiates that might happen to be in the area. After Dante had tracked the girls again to a small cliff the winds had wiped any chance he had of following any further with just his nose. Then he caught on to Weiss's screams and looked in time to spot a Nevermore with both girls on its back. '_How the hell?' _had been his only thought as he set Athena down.

"The girls somehow got onto a Nevermore"

"What? How?" Athena asked as she scanned for the large avian grimm. After a moment she spotted it and while squinting her eyes continued. "How do you know its them? They look like smudges from here."

"Its them, trust me. Now get on my back." Dante replied.

"Why?"

"I'll need my hands and legs to keep up with the Nevermore. You can keep an eye on it and tell me if it changes direction."

With that Dante stepped in front of Athena and crouched down for her to climb onto his back. After a moment of hesitation Athena climbed onto his back, her arms clasped tightly around his shoulders. Dante glanced over his shoulder and said "Wrap your legs around and make sure you don't loosen your grip"

"Ok" was Athena's only reply.

Once she had her arms and legs secure Dante crouched a little before jumping off the cliff towards the forest bellow. Athena did her best to not slip but the speed at which they were moving was far faster then anything she was used to. Dante kept a high pace as he swung, jumped, and maneuvered through the trees as if he grew up in them. They had caught up to the Nevermore in a few minutes and were now tailing under it.

As they moved they heard a girly scream echo through the forest. Dante just ignored it, focused on the task of keeping pace with the Nevermore. '_Damn it all! If I didn't have to worry about being spotted I could have easily outrun and taken down that Nevermore' _he thought.

"Hey, I think one of them jumped off?"

"What?" was all Dante could say before he heard the sound of Ruby shouting.

He stopped just before a clearing and looked up to see Ruby falling. Just before she got to the ground a blonde boy crashed into her and sent them both spiraling into a tree. As they shook themselves off Dante noticed they were at the temple and a number of the other initiates were there. Yang, Blake, a ginger girl who rode in on a . . . Ursa? Behind her was a guy in green.

The group collected together near the temple until a screaming Weiss came falling out of the sky. The blonde guy moved in a fashion to catch her but instead ended up with Weiss landing square on his back crushing him. '_That had to hurt' _As if things could get wilder a red head came running out of the forest closely followed by a Deathstalker. As the grimm approached an all too excited Ruby lunged at the monster, scythe fully extended.

Not too surprising the scythe bounced of the armored pincer leaving a very irritated Deathstalker. Then the Nevermore made a reappearance unleashing a volley of feathers at the initiates. The feathers cut off Ruby's escape path from the Deathstalker and as she turned to it the scorpion reared its tail ready to finish her off. Before its attack could connect Weiss dashed in as if gliding on ice and created a pillar of ice trapping the tail. She then turned to Ruby scolding her about being a child.

'_Go ahead, it's not like there is a giant killer scorpion behind you' _Dante thought. After having concluded her scolding the pairs collected their relics and began to run away. Dante watched as the first years disappeared from sight being tailed by the Deathstalker and Nevermore. '_I really do hope they can handle those Grimm' _he thought as the creatures soon disappeared from sight as well. He really wanted to help them but knew this was their own fight. If they couldn't handle it then they weren't cut out to be hunters. Athena then clear her throat to get his attention. He glanced over his shoulder as she spoke.

"I think you can put me down now. The orders were to follow them until the temple. Now we need to wait for further instruction"

Dante nodded as he crouched down for her to get off. Once off the two walked into the clearing towards the temple. As they neared he heard others approaching and turned to see another pair approaching them. Once was a blonde with 2 rather large blades strapped to his back, the other was a wolf faunus. The blonde was the first to speak.

"Yo, names Crato Jofur, call ID Zeus. This is my partner Lucian Ze'ev, call ID Wave."

"Hi, I'm Dante Argentum, call ID Silver and this is my partner Athena Sapphirus, call ID Sapphire." Dante replied.

"So, what now?" asked Athena. She was answered when all four scrolls beeped. She was the first to pull her scroll out and read the new message out loud.

"Slayers, now that you have arrived at the temple your next task awaits. You have proved you're tracking ability as well as stealth. Now it is time to demonstrate your fighting ability. You are to pick an opponent and engage them. Your fight will be observed and recorded as well as graded. You are to fight until your scrolls sound again marking the end of the fight. Once your fight has concluded you are to make your way back to the cliffs where you began. That is all."

Athena looked up at Dante as if expecting him to make the call. Dante looked at Lucian and Crato. Lucian was staring back at him, a challenge clear across his face. Dante looked back at Athena before speaking.

"I'll take Lucian. I'm sure that you can handle Crato with ease"

"Oh, now we are getting somewhere!" Crato said as he took some steps back while drawing his blades.

Athena gave Dante one more look before nodding and stepping off to the side to leave Lucian and Dante some space to have their fight. Lucian eyed Dante. Dante could feel his excitement build. He had also been wanting to let loose as well. He watched as Lucian took a stance, palms open with one leg leaned forward. A stance derived of karate Dante assumed. He decided to take his own fight stance.

He crouched a little, his right leg placed back, balanced on the ball of his foot. His left leg inched forward also balance on the ball of his foot. He slumped his shoulders a bit and brought both his arms up in front of his chest and cheeks though his left arm was in front of his right. He then rotated his left hand so the partial fist faced his center, his right hand rotated the opposite leaving the partial fist to also face his center. As he finished his stance Lucian arched an eyebrow.

"That stance, there is no mistaking it. Muay Thai, the art of the eight weapons, a martial art designed for war and offense turned to sport. Though it seems your stance is a little different. Your back foot isn't flat on the ground, your lower to the ground, and you're leaning forward. Is that a personal touch?" he asked.

"Partly, though this isn't exactly Muay Thai, that's what a lot of fighters use in the rings for sport. This stance is older and far more dangerous." Dante replied with a low tone.

Lucian's eyes flashed for a moment as he realized what Dante meant. "Muay Boran, the original war style designed to eliminate any opponent as quickly and brutally as possible. How did you learn such a rare art?"

"A found a good teacher as well as several old books on techniques and stances. Now, are we going to chat or are we going to fight?"

"Ladies first" was Lucian's reply.

With that Dante lunged forward more than ready to let wild. He struck with a left jab which Lucian intercepted. He returned his own strike aimed at Dante's neck but he brought up his other arm to block. As Dante blocked Lucian kicked forward nailing Dante in the gut, pushing him back a few feet with trails marking the ground. Before Lucian could reassume his stance Dante was already back on top of him.

Lucian tried to strike with his right but Dante caught the strike with his left and simultaneously lashed out with his right elbow in a cutting motion catching Lucian on the side of his head. In a chain sequence Dante brought his left elbow in a rising ark creaking Lucian right under his chin. Lucian jumped back to avoid any more contact. Dante inspected his handy work with a small smirk across his face.

Lucian had a cut beside his left eyebrow and a small trickle of blood coming from his mouth. '_Looks like I either knocked out a tooth or he bite his tong when I used the elbow uppercut. I'll give it to him though, if he can still stand after taking those hits from me he is definitely tough.' _As Dante contemplated how to continue Lucian spit out some blood before speaking in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"That strength and speed isn't normal. You took my kick like it was a little shove, your fists felt as if they were made of iron and I could tell that it was natural, you didn't use any aura to add more damage. You actually forced me to use my aura shielding and even then it still hurt. Just what kind of faunus are you? I can't even place your scent."

Dante looked at him, eyes focused, assessing how to take the questioning. He wasn't too keen on identifying his 'nature' and didn't want to lie about it saying that he is just human. It was a cold fact that even among other faunus, Dante's kind were monsters. Treated with fear, disgust, and contempt most people ran away from his kind.

Even the more notorious kinds of faunus such as wolf, tiger, and eagle shied away at the presence of his kind and with reason. Most faunus were more or less identical to humans with the addition of the obvious animal ears, horns, feathers, or tails, and the advanced senses. They also usually had their eating habits influenced by whether they were carnivore or herbivore.

The wolf, tiger, and eagle kind were known to be slightly more in tune with their animal side but Dante's kind craved blood, flesh, and had the ability to turn their bodies more animal than human. They also had unmatched vitality meaning that they were very, very tough to kill. In fact the saying 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' was a literal truth.

All these tendencies created an infamy to his kind to the point that they were discriminated against by all. Dante didn't want that curse to follow him here, he knew that those around him would shone him, run away, or ask him to disappear. He wanted to avoid that possibility at any cost. He had already managed to actually make some friends here and wasn't prepared to lose that. He took a deep breath before replying.

"I don't want to mention it if that's ok with you. You should understand how humans treat us, especially certain kinds of faunus. For now I'm going to ask that you drop it and we continue our fight, please."

Lucian studied him for a few seconds before he slowly nodded and reassumed his fight stance. He then surprised Dante by giving him a small smile before he spoke.

"I understand what you mean and respect your decision. Now let's fight with our all and see who comes out as top dog"

Dante couldn't help but smile as he also got into his stance. "Very well, now lets go!" he said as he lunged forward to engage Lucian again.


	6. Battlefield of Monsters

**Author's Note: Fighting, powers, bonding . . . sort of. Enjoy the conclusion to the initiation! Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Athena wasn't looking to forward to this fight. After they had gotten the message the blonde guy Crato had gotten a wild look to his eyes. She recognized that look, the look of someone who liked to fight for no other reason than to get into as much action as possible. Also judging by the size of the blades on his back and his build, he could definitely use them to their fullest. She had been about to ask Dante if he wanted to face Crato but didn't even get the chance to make a suggestion. Dante immediately said that he would take on Lucian.

She was going to challenge his decision but the look Dante and Lucian had showed that it was not up for debate. They looked as if they were sizing each other up, an almost primal look to their eyes. Athena couldn't help but think that they reminded her of two beasts about to fight for the position of alpha and if she knew one thing, it was that you do not get between those kinds of fight unless you planned on losing your life. She stepped back after nodding to Dante waiting for him to begin his fight. It seemed Crato was interested in his partner's fight as well since he lowered his blades to observe the two as they assumed their stances.

Once they got into position Athena noticed that they both used martial arts with alternated stances. Dante's looked similar to Thai boxing while Lucian's resembled karate though his hands were open and his fingers were pressed together as if he were going to slap something. It would have made him look a little silly but there was an air around him that screamed dangerous. As Athena watched, the combatants exchanged a few words before Dante lounged forward connecting with Lucian in an instant. They quick exchange ended when Lucian kicked Dante in the gut sending him back a few feet.

Dante didn't even seem fazed as he was instantly back in Lucian's face attacking with his elbows. This time his attacks landed a chain of elbows before Lucian jumped back. As Lucian straightened himself he spit out some blood and stared at Dante, a fresh cut beside his eyebrow. Then it seemed that they spoke a little though it was too low for Athena to here. Then they both smile and dashed at each other. Athena looked in amazement at their movements. She could barely even see the fists and random kicks as they flew towards their intended targets. Athena heard Crato whistle from behind her. She turned to look at him, his eyes fixed on the fighting pair.

"Damn, now that is how a fight should be. I don't think I could match that speed without focusing some serious aura." Said Crato. "I always considered myself a bit of a monster but those two? Don't get offended but I'm a little glad I didn't go up against Dante."

Athena gave him a cold look but couldn't help agree with what he said. She was a skilled fighter and assassin but during the trip to the temple she could tell that physically she couldn't match Dante. His strength and speed was down-right monstrous and to make things worse Lucian was going toe to toe with him. Still she wasn't about to be overshadowed. She turned to Crato.

"Are we going to fight or are you just going to drool over their fight?" she asked.

Crato gave her an amused look before raising his blades as he turned to face her. "All right then, let's get this started."

Athena grabbed her whip preparing for battle. She then took her stance, legs apart, left arm slightly extended to balance out the weight of the whip in her right. Crato had both blades aimed forward with his left leg in front of his right. A moment passed as the opponents assessed each other before Crato made the first move. He shot forward both blades coming down in an overhead chop.

Athena quickly sidestepped the strike bringing the whip forward to lash at Crato's side. He reacted by bring one blade back stopping the whip's bladed end from tearing into his side. He then spun on his heeling bringing both blades around in a windmill fashion. Athena dodge by dashing backwards out of reach. They continued this pattern, Crato initiating the attacks with Athena easily avoiding the blades before countering with her whip. Crato managed to block each strike and kept up the pressure trying to make Athena stubble or drop her guard. After a few exchanges Athena began to learn and predict Crato's attacks and after a while initiated her own attack.

She shot the whip forward as if to catch Crato in the head. He simply ducted his head to the side as he kept moving forward. Athena smirked as she pulled the whip back lashing it around Crato's shoulder. Crato shot Athena a surprised look as she used the whip to pull him forward while simultaneously jumping forward and kicking him square in the chest. Crato stumbled back from the attack while Athena capitalized on his surprise and used a sweeping kick to knock him back on the ground.

She then took a step back as she looked down at Crato. Normally she would have gone in for the finish but her gut sense told her doing that would have put her in the line of fire so she resorted to caution rather than go for the obvious kill. Crato soon got back on his feet eyeing her carefully.

"I'll admit, I was underestimating you. You know how to use that whip to its best effects will still staying out of my reach." He said.

"You could say I'm very experienced at bringing guys like you down off their high horses" she replied with a smirk.

Crato smirked back as he raised his blades aiming the ends in opposing directions. Athena watched as Crato slammed the ends of the handles together making the ends bind together in a series of clicks and locks. Now Crato held on a single staff with the blades on the ends. The weapon most have been nearly 7 feet long with the serrated edge of each blade facing the opposite direction.

He held it up with his right arm while his left hand stayed at his side, probably for balance. Athena got into a more defensive stance. With the extra reach Crato now had she would need to be even more alert. As she stepped back she heard what sounded like rock being crushed off to her right. Both Crato and she turned to a startling site.

Dante hand ripped one of the temple's stone pillars from the ground with _one hand _hoisting it over his head before throwing it like a spear at Lucian. Lucian didn't dodge it, instead he shot his hand forward splitting the pillar down the center. Straight through the pillar appeared Dante having used the pillar as cover and nailed Lucian with a right cross straight across the cheek blasting him towards a wall of stone 20 feet behind.

Athena watched with wide eyes as Lucian dislodged himself from the wall and charged against Dante. Dante used a low kick but Lucian just hopped it as he lashed out with his left hand narrowly missing Dante's head though he left a sizable cut across Dante's left cheek. Dante leaned back bringing his knee up to strike at Lucian's chest but before it could connect Lucian kicked Dante in the chest using the force to jump back out of Dante's attack.

The pair eyed each other for a moment before they were at it again ripping apart the terrain around them as they continued to attack each other without any hesitation. Trees were snapped like toothpicks, stone crushed like sand under every strike that didn't find its mark. If the academy was planning on using the temple again for future initiations, they would need to build a new one.

Athena snapped her attention away from the devastation and looked back at Crato. He was still looking at the fighters, wide eyed as if thinking the same thing Athena was '_Those two are absolute monsters'_ He turned his attention back to Athena, already in her battle stance again waiting for any opening. Crato attacked, thrusting his lance forward but Athena managed to knock the tip away but was surprised when Crato continued his attack bring down his fist towards her chest.

She managed to sidestep the blow narrowly avoiding being crushed. Crato's fist was buried to the wrist in the hard soil, a small crater surrounding the spot she had just been in. Crato yanked out his fist looking carefully at her, looking for any away to make an attack connect. He then rushed forward attacking with a mix of thrusts from his lance and punches aimed at her torso and gut forcing her to back up until she hit a tree.

She panicked for a moment as Crato brought his arm around as if to clothesline her but she managed to jump at her fullest sailing 30 feet over his head and landing 25 feet behind him. She turned as Crato's arm continued its path smashing through the trunk of the tree crudely cutting it down. '_He is just as much of a monster as our partners' _she thought as she again took a defensive position. Crato turned to her with weapon raised before charging at her yet again but this time Athena was going to push him back.

Before he could close the distance to make use of his weapon Athena lashed out with her whip forcing Crato to block. She kept the pressure bringing back the whip in a split second and attacking again. Sparks were flying as the whip's bladed end kept colliding with the blade ends of Crato's staff slowly forcing him to take steps back. Even though Crato was obviously being overwhelmed with the speed of her attacks he maintained a solid defense by using both hands to whirl around his heavy weapon blocking every strike of the whip. After a few moments Crato seemed to give up on closing the distance and jumped back out of the whip's reach.

"That is a serious offense you got there. I couldn't even close in while dealing with that damn whip." He said.

Athena stayed silent. Losing her focus now could be devastating and she wasn't about to take that chance, not against someone so dangerous. Crato smirked a little before holding up his weapon in a stance to throw. She suddenly felt the air around him change, the air starting to smell like ozone as if a thunderstorm was overhead. Crato's aura began to flare light blue, light crackles of electricity emanating off his body. His eyes looked as if there was a storm behind them, small tendrils of electricity tracing around his irises. She heard him say something before a flash of light blinded her.

"Fly Gungnir"

Athena's instincts kicked into overdrive as she jumped away from where she had been previously standing while the light blinded her. As she momentarily traveled through the air she felt a searing pain run through her side. She managed to land in a kneeling position, her vision blurry from pain. Once her sight can back she looked at her side. There was a large gash just above her hip with blood coming out, her skirt already starting to get drenched. The cut itself didn't look too deep but she was still losing a considerable amount of blood. She needed to patch it up but couldn't while facing Crato. She looked behind her to see his weapon lodged into a boulder, steam trailing from the blades. She looked back at Crato as he eyed her.

"That was rather impressive that you managed to avoid being impaled. My weapon, Gungnir, never misses its mark when I throw it like that but it seems you were fast enough to avoid a mortal wound. Can't say that it did you much good though. Now I'll just go with some old fashion fists to finish this."

Crato began to approach Athena. She just grit her teeth trying to decide what to do now. She wouldn't be able to make effective use of her whip with an injury like this without tearing it open even more. '_Looks like I'll have to get physical as well'_ she thought as she stood up. She was well versed in unarmed combat but tried to avoid it if she could. The majority of the time her opponents or targets were far bigger and stronger but also very slow making it easy to out maneuver them but she saw how Crato handled Gungnir.

He is faster and more nimble then his physique would suggest not to mention he is probably on the same level as Dante or Lucian in terms of strength. Though it seemed that in terms of fighting style Crato was more like a brawler, no noticeable style being used with a focus on his arms rather than legs. '_I'll have to take advantage of that and take him by surprise if I want a chance at taking him down'_ Athena thought as she widened her stance.

Once Crato was within 10 feet he shot forward arm extended to finish her with a strong cross. Athena stepped into the attack rather than try to avoid it. She used one arm to block from inside Crato's elbow as she brought her other hand, palm open, into a strike at Crato's windpipe. The blow connected leaving Crato coughing as Athena quickly lowered her arm focusing her aura into it. A thin layer of crystal formed around her knuckle before she drove it straight into Crato's diaphragm knocking him back as he double over trying to recover his breath.

Athena tried to maintain the offensive but Crato recovered quicker then she expected. As she was about to drive her fist into his face Crato swung his left in a backhand strike catching Athena right across the lower ribs launching her to the side. She felt a rib snap at the moment Crato's arm connected. She landed with a thud against the base of a tree nearly 30 feet from where Crato was standing.

Crato having fully recovered made his way to the boulder where his weapon was lodged before effortlessly yanking it out and turning to face her again. Athena had trouble forcing herself to stand. The effects of blood lose, the pain coming from her snapped rib, and a rather large bruise on her shoulder from crashing into the tree were starting to get to her. As Crato started to approach, Athena glanced over at Dante and Lucian.

They were both panting, covered in dirt and a little blood but otherwise fine. They charged again both throwing a right cross at the same time. The fists collided creating a shockwave from the immense pressure cracking the stone around them before they both jumped back. Athena then turned her attention back to Crato who had Gungnir poised for another throw.

'_Dying in test rather than on the field . . . how disappointing. My superiors back in Mistral are not going to be happy about this.' _Athena thought bitterly as she watched Crato flare his aura. Just as Crato released Gungnir with the flash of light Athena heard her scroll sound a whistle. She kept her eyes closed thinking that it had been too late and that Crato had already killed her. She was surprised to hear Dante's voice.

"You can open your eyes now. The fight is over."

Athena slowly opened her eyes, still a little foggy from the light preceding Crato's attack but managed to focus them on a figure standing in front of her with his back to her. She took a moment to process what she was seeing. Dante was right in front of her slightly to her left. His right arm was extended and in his grip was . . . Gungnir! She looked down to see the point of the blade not 2 inches away from her chest.

'_What!? Dante managed to catch that thing!?How the hell did he get over here so fast?' _Athena's thoughts raced as she looked at Dante's back. She noticed that around his figure there was some sort of heat distortion, like the heat that came out of an oven when you opened it mid bake and she could make out the slightest hints of silver with traces of red. '_Was that his aura?' _As she pondered Dante let out a heavy sigh releasing Gungnir, dropping it to the ground. Crato and Lucian jogged over before Crato spoke.

"I've never seen anyone catch Gungnir before . . . you shouldn't even be able to stand after holding it, the metal is infused with my aura and lightning dust making it impossible for others to wield Gungnir, not to mention that paralysis should take over if you are in contact with blade for longer than 6 seconds. The excess heat should have burned through your fingers as well . . ."

Dante sighed again before responding "My body is naturally resistant to several elemental effects. Also thanks to my semblance I'm all but immune to any form of heat damage. It hurt like hell holding onto your weapon but there won't be any lasting effects."

"Wait" asked Athena "What's your semblance?"

Crato and Lucian turned to Dante obviously wondering the same thing. Dante looked around at them as he scratched the back of his neck. Looks like he wasn't too comfortable with the question but he replied anyway.

"I call it 'Silver Nova'. My aura can manifest as a form of energy that I can manipulate through my body to get boosts in strength, speed and even my senses. This energy also allows me to superheat myself to the point that I can melt through steel like poking a hot knife into butter. I can also condense it into my fists, elbows, knees or feet and create an explosion on impact, usually instantly incinerating anything within 5 meters of me. As a side effect I can rapidly heal, my core temperature is always at 150 degrees Fahrenheit or more and I'm almost always hungry" Dante finished.

Athena looked at Dante with wide eyes. She had just seen how strong and fast he was but to think he could increase that power with such an explosive aura was terrifying. Dante looked back at her and she noticed his eyes had a little sadness. He looked like someone who had admitted to committing a crime and was waiting for his punishment.

Why the look she couldn't guess but then again if she had a semblance as scary as that she probably wouldn't go around sharing it. She was about to speak but a sharp pain stopped her from speaking. She looked down to see the wound still bleeding and started to feel dizzy. Dante looked at her wound, concern evident in his face. He looked back at her face before speaking.

"If you let me I can close the wound. It will hurt a lot though."

"What's your plan?" asked Lucian as he crouched beside Dante to get a better look at the cut.

"I was planning on cauterizing it" he replied.

"Not like this you can't" Lucian said as he examined the cut. "Let me clean it and reduce the swelling before you do anything. Athena, do you have any ice dust?"

Athena nodded her head as she reached around and pulled the vial out of her pouch. She handed it to Lucian and leaned back against the tree. Lucian removed his glove before he uncorked the vial and placed a small amount of dust in one hand before corking the vial and returning it. He then began to flare his aura, a greyish tint to it. Water began to form along the palm of his hand, then trailed through the dust collecting it turning the water a lighter shade of blue.

The water then trailed form his hand to the cut passing over the skin. Athena let out a small gasp as the cold liquid cleaned her wound also slightly reducing the swelling. Once finished Lucian moved aside for Dante. Dante held one finger up in his right hand while his left clamped the cut shut. Dante glanced up at Athena before he gave Lucian a look. Lucian nodded and put his gloved hand in front of Athena's mouth.

"Bite down, this is going to hurt" said Dante.

Athena slowly nodded before softly biting down on Lucian's hand. Dante then looked back at the cut and began to flare his aura around his finger. The finger began to glow like a heated iron rod though instead of being orange or yellow his finger was silver with a shade of crimson to it, steam radiating from the tip. Dante began pressing his finger against Athena's skin. She bit down hard trying to stop herself from screaming.

It felt as if someone was trying to slowly skin her with a hot scalpel. After what felt like hours Dante removed his finger to examine the wound. It was bright red from the heat but fully sealed. He stood up fully as he took a step back for Athena to catch her breath. She was still in pain from the broken rib and bruised shoulder but now at least she didn't have to worry about bleeding out. As Athena tried to regain her senses she heard Dante speak to Crato, what he said surprising her.

"If you ever hurt my partner again I will personally put you 6 feet under . . . am I clear?"

His tone, though it carried a sense of protectiveness, was dangerously low, daring for Crato to reply and challenge him, but Crato stayed silent. Crato and Lucian than backed up as Dante came closer to Athena looking her over. He looked like he wanted to say something but then the scrolls sounded again. He pulled it out and read the message out loud.

"Well done initiates, you have completed this initiation and have coincidently just meet your full team. Now you must head back to the cliffs before dusk falls. If any team member does not arrive before allotted time, the team will be reprimanded and obligated to take an additional test to guarantee ability and solidify teamwork."

Dante and Lucian let out an irritated sigh as Crato launched a rather colorful assortment of vocabulary at the sky. Dante looked at Athena as she tried to stand without the trees help.

"Um, are you ok? I can help . . . if you want?" he asked.

Athena looked at him, a little confused with his request. He hadn't given her much of a choice earlier when they were pursuing the girls or chasing the Nevermore but now he seemed more hesitant.

"What up with you? All for carrying me around before and now that I got some blood on me you suddenly get skittish" she teased. To her satisfaction Dante got a light blush as he scratched his chin.

"Um, I just didn't want to make you fell weird . . ." he said.

"You mean after you just saved me and then threatened to kill my attacker? Oh come on I thought you had thicker skin than that" she continued.

She honestly felt a little touched at how he had gotten protective and relieved that he seemed to value her as a partner. She was happy with her teasing and decided to cut him a little slack.

"Ok then. Dante, will you please help me get to the cliffs?" she asked in an innocent tone.

Dante gave a relieved smile as he turned and crouched for her to get on his back. Athena cleared her throat causing him to glance over his shoulder.

"I would prefer to go in style if you don't mind" she said with a grin.

Dante smirked a little as he turned around. He then picked her up bridal style and turned towards the cliffs.

"You are enjoying this too much" he said.

"Yep" was Athena's reply.

Dante glanced over at Lucian and Crato who were eyeing them both with curious looks.

"Let's go . . . team" he said before taking off towards the cliffs. Lucian and Crato soon were on their tail. They ran through the forest at a fast pace, not as fast as when Dante was chasing the Nevermore, but still faster than what most humans or faunus were regularly capable of. They reached the cliffs in about 10 minutes. Athena was about to ask how Dante planned to get up the cliffs while holding her but she got her answer before she could even ask.

Dante jumped straight up at the wall and started to _run_ up the cliff side. Athena stared with wide eyes as the balls of his feet plunged into the rock like wet sand creating holds as he raced up. She looked down to see Lucian and Crato keeping up as well. Lucian was jumping up from foot hold to foot hold with impossible agility while Crato used foot holds and his blades to climb and swing himself up with practiced movement. As she saw this Athena could only think '_Great I'm in the team full of monsters. I'm screwed'. _

Once they made it to the top they were greeted by Ozpin, ever present mug in hand. Dante set Athena down as the four lined up in front of Ozpin. He looked over them before addressing them.

"Well down 'Slayers' or your more proper term 'Ghosts'. Your initiation was a success and you each left quite the impressions on your evaluators. Now, you are to head to the auditorium for your team to be announced to the student body once the first year teams had been announced. We shall also announce the teams you will mentor and monitor for the next four years. Each first year team will have 2 'Slayers' assigned to their team as the mentors."

"But weren't we supposed to be mentors to the students in general?" asked Lucian.

"Yes, that is true but the teams showing greater potential have a form of . . . priority to their respectively assigned mentors. So after initiation and evaluation for some of the second and third year teams, the most exceptional teams are given direct mentorship by currently active 'Slayers'. I believe you all remember me listing the requirements for students to apply to be in the Slayer Program correct?" Everyone nodded.

"What I did not mention, and the most important detail by far was the need for a referral or recommendation of an active 'Slayer'. That is why you are specifically given teams to observe, teach, train . . . and possibly recommend."

Ozpin stayed silent for a moment, allowing for the team to process the new information given to them before continuing.

"Dante and Athena, you shall monitor team RWBY consisting of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. Lucian and Crato, you are assigned to team JNPR consisting of Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. You are dismissed until called to stage." With that Ozpin turned and walked away towards the campus.

The group looked at each other until Lucian broke the silence.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." He said.

"That's one way of putting it." Said Dante.

"But why do we get the team with the wimp" said Crato with a sigh.

"Who do you mean?" asked Athena.

"Arc. The kid screamed like a little girl 2 times while in the test, tried to flirt while in a _grimm infested forest_, flung by a Deathstalker, and got speared to a tree." Crato explained.

"At least they didn't set fire to the forest, ride a Nevermore, and charge that same Deathstalker without a plan." Said Dante.

"Who the hell did that?" asked Lucian.

"Ruby and Weiss" replied Athena.

"Well we haven't seen Yang and Blake in action yet so there still is hope" said Dante.

"True, but I'm not too sure about Valkyrie and Lie. The chick came in riding on an Ursa minor. Part of me doesn't even want to know how she managed that." Said Crato.

"Bye the way, where are the other four?" asked Lucian

Everyone just gave him an inquisitive look. He sighed before continuing.

"The other four 'Slayers'. They should be here as well. It's almost dusk and I don't see them anywhere."

"You mean the dude with the lacrosse stick, the guy packing the double edged long sword, the dark haired chick that made Weiss look warm and cuddly, and the guy with 2 oversized shotguns?" said Dante. Everyone now turned to look at him.

"What? I note random details a lot. It's not that big a deal," he said defensively.

"Let's just head for the auditorium for now. Don't want to be late for our announcement," said Athena.

The group made their way to the auditorium while Athena detoured to the locker rooms to wash some of the blood off her leg and skirt. The others didn't really care if they had some dirt and blood on them so they went straight for the auditorium. As Athena arrived the final team, team JNPR, had finished being announced. As the students cleared off the stage Ozpin tapped the microphone to quiet everyone down.

"Now then students, it is time to announce the 'Slayer' team that was formed alongside your teams. Yes, some of you were personally followed and monitored by the 'Slayer' candidates while in the initiation. Their reports on your ability influenced who they would also be assigned to as mentors. So will Dante Argentum, Athena Sapphirus, Crato Jofur, and Lucian Ze'ev please come forward?"

The group made their way to the stage while Athena thought '_You really are pulling some of this stuff from your ass Ozpin. Our reports influenced the mentor assigning's? Really?' _The team soon lined up in front of the student body. Athena noticed that most of the students were looking at her making her very self-conscious.

She had only been able to remove some blood from her thigh and hip but the skirt, lower part of her shirt, and sock were clearly still caked with blood and the tear in her shirt showed part of the cauterized cut. '_No fair, Dante and Lucian's cuts already healed and Crato didn't get any noticeable injuries while in the forest' _Athena thought as she visibly pouted. After a moment Ozpin began to speak again.

"Dante Argentum, Athena Sapphirus, Crato Jofur, and Lucian Ze'ev . . . from here on in you are team ASCZ (Assassin) lead by Dante Argentum. Dante Argentum and Athena Sapphirus, your assigned team is team RWBY. Crato Jofur and Lucian Ze'ev, your assigned team is team JNPR. Congratulations on making it to the Slayer Corps. Students are dismissed."

Ozpin walked away towards the back entrance leaving the students and 'Slayers' to handle themselves. Most of the students filed out except for teams RWBY and JNPR. Athena looked them over, amused at their expressions. Ruby looked like she wanted to explode with excitement, Weiss's jaw was almost at the floor, Yang looked like Christmas had come early, and Blake had a calm expression. Jaune looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole, Pyrrha had a look of polite curiosity, Nora looked a bit like Yang but the glint in her eyes were a little unnerving, and Ren had a poker face. As them four hoped off the stage the 8 first years came forward. Ruby was the first to speak.

"Ahh, this is so exciting! I can't believe you get to be our mentor! When can we start training?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Dante rolled his eyes with an amused smile before responding "We can talker tomorrow. As for training I do have some suggestions but that can wait."

"Oh, ok. Um, who did you follow in the test?" she asked.

"You actually. Athena tailed Weiss, Lucian tailed . . ."

"Pyrrha" Lucian said.

"And Crato followed Jaune" Dante finished.

"What? I never even saw you!" said Ruby.

"That was kind of the point" Dante deadpanned.

"Um, how much did you guys see exactly?" asked Weiss as she shuffled nervously.

"Everything up to the temple" Athena replied.

"Um, who followed me and Blake? Also why until the temple?" asked Yang.

"Not all the first years were followed. As for why the temple, we were given orders to follow until you retrieved your relics. After that we stayed to fight each other in our own test." Lucian explained.

"Who won?" asked Nora.

"Technically no one but because of these 2 . . ." Athena pointed at Dante and Lucian "That temple no longer exists. Just a pile of rubble and some uprooted trees is all that's left."

With her statement the eight first years stared with wide eyes at Dante and Lucian. Dante just nonchalantly shrugged.

"I guess we got too excited." He said.

Before they could ask any more questions Lucian put his hand up to silence them.

"That is enough for now. You get to your dorms and rest. We also need to go to our dorm, it's been a long day."

The first years looked a little disappointed but nodded before marching out of the auditorium. Athena looked at her time as their scrolls sounded off. She pulled it out to read the message.

"Slayers, your belongings and new uniforms have been moved to your new dorm. Teacher's wing, third floor, room 10. Your schedules will be sent to you momentarily."

Athena looked at the others before turning to Dante. He was the only one familiar with the layout of the school so he should probably know where to go. Another beep came from her and Dante's scrolls but this time Dante read the message.

"Dante Argentum, Athena Sapphirus, you are to report to Professor Port's morning lecture to help as assistants. The class is at 9 am, arrive by 8:30 am at the latest."

As he read this Dante let out a curse.

"Dust damn it all!" as he began walking out of the building. As they followed Athena couldn't help but chuckle '_Someone seems annoyed'._


	7. Mentor's Test

**Author's Note: On to the official beginning of classes! Hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Dante was pissed, yet again. The test had been annoying enough with the fire, chasing, and then fight to conclude. He even let his temper surface when he confronted Crato for nearly killing Athena. He hadn't even thought about it as he intercepted the lance before it could impale Athena, his body just reacted. He shrugged off the action, saying that the fight had finished so it was natural for him to intervene. He knew better though, he knew he would have stopped the attack even if the fight hadn't been concluded.

He wasn't exactly underestimating Athena's ability but he had started to feel protective the moment Crato had cut her with his first throw. He tried to focus himself on Lucian but his mind kept trailing to the sounds of Athena's fight. The moment the smell of her blood reached him, he felt his blood boil with anger. As Crato let loose his attack to finish off Athena, he flared his aura into his legs and right arm as he dashed to Athena just barely managing to grab the lance before it could connect with her. He then felt the pain run through his arm and shoulder, a combination of the strain from stopping the lance and the current that seemed to flow through the weapon.

Once he dropped the weapon he turned to examine Athena's injuries. She had the obvious cut, looked like her breath was strained, and her shoulder was slumping forward. She seeing her like that made him get angrier. It didn't help that Crato was the first to speak but Dante managed to control himself as he explained why the lance hadn't affected him. Luckily for him Athena's sudden question about his semblance surprised him enough to drown out some of the anger. After he explained his semblance suddenly became self-aware of the looks he was getting.

Athena's expression worried him most, the mix of fear and shock evident in her eyes. It wasn't the first time he had gotten that look, in fact most people who saw his semblance in action immediately avoided getting close to him for fear of being killed by him. He just tried to shake the thoughts off as he told her he wanted to seal the wound. After getting her ok and Lucian cleaning the cut Dante began to work on it. He tried to control the heat as he carefully began to weld her skin together.

'_This is going to scar' _he thought as he finished and inspected his handy work. While he gave her some space he turned to Crato and decided to make his anger known. He looked him in the eye as he threatened to kill him if he dared to harm Athena again. This was a sparring test, there was no need to use such a lethal attack. After that he returned to Athena as they got their next message.

After reading it Dante looked Athena over wondering if he should offer to help her reach the cliffs. Crato had clearly gone overboard and Athena was probably more hurt then she let on but Dante didn't know if she would be comfortable with him even touching her now that she knew what he could do, it didn't help that she had seen how him and Lucian destroyed the temple in their fight. Athena caught on to his hesitation and teased him for it.

Dante blushed at his momentary shyness but was also relieved to see that she wasn't scared of him, at least not enough for her to not want him to touch her. With her teasing complete she gave him her most innocent looked as she asked him to help her. Dante would have found that cute but was a little distracted by the fact that her shirt, skirt, and leg were drenched in her blood.

He just nodded with a turned for her to climb onto his back but was surprised when she said she wanted to travel in style. '_Well she is going to be fine' _he thought as he picked her up. Once he had a solid hold he called out to his two new teammates telling them to head out. Without waiting for their replies he started to run back to the cliffs.

After arriving at the top Ozpin informed them of how the evening would proceed. The naming ceremony and mentor announcement had been short enough though dealing with the first year's questions was really starting to tire him out. Luckily Lucian stopped them and sent them off. Then they got the messages for their dorm location and schedules. The minute he read that he had to be up for a lecture as an assistant set him off.

He had expected to attend some regular courses but that didn't tip him off that he might be expected to assist some classes. He stormed out of the auditorium in the direction of the teacher's wing. He didn't even bother to see if his team was following him. They had arrived a few minutes later to the dorm. He scanned his scroll over the digital lock. He opened the dorm and took in the view. It looked more like a hotel suite more than a dorm room.

To his left was a spacy kitchen with a stove, fridge, and multiple cupboards. In front of him was a large living room with a sofa facing a large flat-screen TV, a small dinner table separating the kitchen from the living room and a small coffee table in front of the sofa. Two doors lead away from the living room into two rooms. Each door had a pair of names for their occupants, Lucian with Crato and Athena with him.

Dante slouched a little as he noticed he would be in the same room with Athena alone '_That is just asking for trouble. You did this on purpose Ozpin' _he thought. It's not he like couldn't live with a girl, it's just he had wanted a little more . . . privacy. As he looked at his door he felt Athena nudge him in the back. He glanced over to her. She was impatiently tapping her foot waiting for him to open their door.

He walked into the room taking in the layout. It was a simple single room with two twin beds on opposite side, each with a desk and dresser. There was a bathroom to one end with a sink and mirror outside the door of the bathroom. He could see inside, a toilet and small shower with a somewhat see through curtain.

Dante sighed as he made his way to one of the beds, his few belongings already on the dresser. He looked over the bed as he heard Athena begin to unpack her things and store them away. He decided he would sort out his clothes later and grabbed some shorts and white wraps he sometimes used for sleeping as he made his way to the bathroom.

"Showering?" asked Athena.

"Yeah, I'll sort my stuff later," he replied as he closed the bathroom door.

He took a quick shower not even bothering to check what temperature it was and changed into his black shorts and white wraps before stepping out. Athena was sitting on her bed with a towel and clothes wrapped in her arms. She gave him an odd look as she asked "No towel?"

"Don't need it, high body temp remember?" he replied.

Looking satisfied with the answer Athena walked past him into the bathroom. Dante walked back over to his side and began putting away his clothes and gear. He set his blade down beside the desk and then walked out of the room. He went into the kitchen to see if there was already some food stored. They had some water bottles, some bread, a block of cheese, sliced ham, some crackers, and a small carton of juice.

'_Well that's nice of them. I'll have to go to town and buy some meat and rice tomorrow though' _Dante thought as he grabbed a bottle and some crackers. He plopped himself down on the sofa a tried to relax as he munched on his crackers. After a few minutes of relaxing Athena came out of their room wearing a light blue tank top and the same shorts from the night in the ballroom. She sat down beside Dante and turned to look at him. Dante kept eating his crackers but Athena's stare was starting to bug him.

"What?" he asked as he looked at her.

"Nothing. Just wondering something"

"And that would be?"

"We did you look so worried after you explained your semblance?"

Dante took a moment to reply. He knew at some point she would ask but still wasn't looking forward to it. He sighed as he set his crackers down on the coffee table before replying.

"People usually freak out when they learn that my ability is so dangerous. That and I don't usually use it in the nicest circumstances so they always back away from me. It's kind of why I was a little hesitant to pick you up again after closing your cut."

Athena winced at the mention of the impromptu sealing. It was definitely an experience she did not need to repeat.

"I don't think you should be so quick to assume things. If it wasn't for you I'd probably be dead and I think your ability sounds pretty cool actually."

"That's not what your face said."

Athena smacked Dante's shoulder with a pout.

"I was surprised ok, and yes a little scared. It's not every day that you meet someone that is literally a walking reactor ok. Besides, Lucian and Crato were just as scary as you. Lucian kept up with you while tearing apart that temple and Crato nearly turned me into a shish kabob. Do you honestly think you were the only one that left a big impression?"

Dante felt a little relieved with her remark. It's true that Crato and Lucian were intimidating but he was more concerned with Athena's opinion than theirs. He smirked a little as he looked back at Athena.

"Ok, sorry. I'm not really used to dealing with others so you will have to cut me a little slack . . . by the way you were a little scary too."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she arched her eyebrow.

"I noticed when you first knocked Crato down. I thought you were going to go for the kill, your look was almost predatory. Not exactly a cute way for a lady to look," he teased.

"Hey! It's hard to look good and take down giants like Crato," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Giants? Crato is my height."

"Yeah well, the three of you are giants" she accused.

"No, you're just short"

Athena promptly punched him on the shoulder as she gave him an even bigger pout. Before he could say anything else she stole his crackers and held them behind her back.

"Give those back" he said.

"Nope" was her reply as she pulled out one cracker and ate it in front of him.

"Fine then," he grumbled as he got up and walked to the kitchen.

Athena watched as Dante pulled out the bread, ham, cheese and a small knife to make a small sandwich. When he finished he walked back and sat down. He gave Athena one annoyed glance as he took a bite out of his snack.

"So what you said about always being hungry. Is there any way for you to get full or satisfied at least because there is no way that can be enough for you." She asked.

'_Ha, if I told you, you would either run away, or throw up, or both' _Dante thought as he swallowed.

"There are certain . . . foods that I can eat that satisfy for a while." He answered.

"Certain foods?"

'_I'll tell her a little about my eating habits. Not all the details though, can't risk it since last time I told anyone I need to eat . . . human flesh, it didn't go well' _Dante thought before answering.

"Grimm meat." It was true, he could usually make do with the occasional beowolf or Ursa steak. King Tiajustu sometimes though those were harder to find.

"Grimm meat? Seriously? I heard they taste terrible even with a good cook preparing the meat," she asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"It tastes better if it's a little on the rare side actually."

". . . Ok" she said.

Before she could think of something else to say Crato and Lucian walked out of their room, both changed for sleep. Crato was dressed like Dante, only wearing a pair of white shorts while Lucian had some grey shorts and a light blue sleeveless shirt.

"What's up?" asked Crato with a rather loud voice.

"Just getting a late night snack," said Dante as he reached for the last bite of his sandwich. Before his hand reached Athena snatched away the last bit, gave him a smirk, and then tossed it into her mouth. '_Really? First my crackers and now my sandwich? Will I even be able to eat in peace anymore?' _he pondered as he gave her an annoyed look.

"Is this going to be a regular with you? It's a little annoying" he asked.

"Until you can keep up, yes. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn quickly" she replied with a big grin.

"Well aren't you two already pals." Said Lucian.

Dante and Athena turned back to look at Lucian and Crato. Crato then began to flex with his arms held behind his head.

"So Athena, like what you see?" he asked with a wink and grin.

"Oh please, I've seen better," she replied with an almost smug look.

Dante and Lucian tried to halt their laughter as Crato's grin disappeared. He then shrugged and made his way to the kitchen. Lucian pulled up a chair from the dining table and sat down beside the sofa, still chuckling.

"Did you guys get your schedules yet?" asked Athena.

"Yeah, we are meeting up with Ozpin around 9 am so he can show us around. He also sent us a list of the classes and times team JNPR is scheduled for."

"Ok, so then everyone has an early morning. Well . . . I don't know about you guys but I'm beaded to bed" said Dante as he stood up and walked to his room.

Athena waved goodnight at Lucian and stoke her tong out at Crato as she followed behind him. Dante quickly jumped into his bed as Athena closed the door behind them. She then turned off the lights before feeling her way to her bed. Dante watched her stumble a little before she got into her bed as well. Though it was almost pitch black Dante could see her as clear as day. He then looked up at the ceiling wondering what tomorrow would bring. As he began to drift off he heard Athena whisper "Goodnight". He looked at her but she was turned away from him. He smiled a little before he whispered back "You too". He then closed his eyes as he drifted off.

* * *

Dante awoke with smack. He shut up ready to take action but was surprised to see a very irritated Athena looking at him from the side of his bed. He looked around the room wondering what was wrong. A little light was coming through the curtain so he guessed it was already morning. He then looked back at Athena, now dressed in a uniform while she tapped her foot. '_What time is it?' _Dante thought as he swung his legs off his bed.

"Could you be any slower? We need to get to Port's class in 20 minutes!" she said.

"Oh right, I forgot about that. Um, why did you smack me?" Dante asked as he reached for his uniform.

"Well after calling, poking, and shaking you it was the only option left short of hauling you out of the bed. Now hurry and get dressed!" She said in an annoyed tone.

"Fine, yessh." He said as he entered the bathroom.

That was a weird thing about Dante. He could either take small naps and was always alert to anyone around him or he passed out cold and nothing could really wake him. He didn't really have an in between and resorted to lightly napping during the day and night as opposed to sleeping the full night. Being up the whole day during the test had left him rather tired so after getting comfortable he was out like a light.

He soon got dressed in his new uniform. It was the same fashion as the regular students but the color was different. The uniform was predominantly black with white trimmings, the button shirt was stark white, and the tie was crimson red. The dress shoes were also black with a silvery buckle at the top. He also decided to put on his older black wraps since they matched the outfit better.

Dante walked out of the bathroom and looked at Athena more closely. Her uniform was the same, her skirt reached mid-thigh with red streaks running down the length. She also had her regular knee high socks and similar shoes. Dante looked at her neck momentarily before chuckling a little. Her tie wasn't done correctly leaving an odd knot with the starting of the tie pointing away from the center.

"What?" she asked.

"Your tie" Dante replied as he walked up to her and began undoing it. She gave him a pout making him chuckle again as he fixed it for her.

"You don't have much experience with ties do you?" he asked.

"No duh. It's not like I had the chance to go many dates while I was being trained"

"Where did you train?"

Athena hesitated for a moment before she replied "Mistral, graduated from a standard combat school, top of my class, before training in a military division specialized in 'interpersonal' operations. That's where I learned about the different advanced programs meant to train soldiers into elite assassins and spies. Mistral had an academy similar to Beacon but they didn't match up against Beacon. Their names were different too. For Beacon we are identified as Ghosts. In Mistral they are called Specters. I think in Atlas it's . . . Templars? You?"

"Vacuo, not at the top of my class but I was advanced 2 years. I spent the following 2 to 3 years training and traveling. Then I started bounty hunting and on occasion taking up assassination requests. Most were hunting down targets hiding in heavily wooded areas and mountains. I built up a reputation over the last 3 years and then caught wind of Beacon's Ghost program. I came to Vale a small while ago and met Ozpin, then I requested entry and gave him my records and skill set." Dante said as he completed Athena's tie.

"Wait, then how did you get the recommendation to enter? I thought he said you needed an active Ghost's recommendation to even be considered for the program?"

"I'm not sure about that myself. Maybe he meant that for current Beacon students or I ran into a Ghost during my travels without knowing it." Dante answered with a shrug.

Athena looked at him but then glanced at a small clock on her dresser.

"Damn, we need to go!" she said as she flung open their door.

Dante followed as they ran past Lucian and Crato, already dressed themselves, and exited the room. They arrived at Port's class with a few minutes to spare while the professor seemed to be preparing some notes on his desk. He looked up at them as they entered.

"Ah, welcome Slayers. Ready to teach?" he asked in a loud jolly way. He stood up and gave them each a firm handshake before beginning.

"Now, for today's lecture I need one of you to assist in a demonstration"

"Why a demonstration?" asked Athena.

"To show the power of the Slayers of course!" he said. "I had captured a Grimm yesterday and I wanted one of you to face it in front of the class."

"Um, where is the Grimm exactly?" asked Athena

Port pointed to the far end of the class, a large metal and wood cage holding a dark figure inside. As if on cue the creature began to shake trying to break out. Dante and Athena exchanged a quick glance before looking to the professor. He looked to them before speaking.

"The students will begin to gather shortly so please stand to the side of the desk. Also, who will face the Grimm?"

"I will" Dante replied as he gave a sly smirk.

Athena eyed him with a slightly concerned look but didn't say anything. Soon the students began to arrive and find their seats. Before the bell sounded at 9 team RWBY and JNPR crashed through the door. '_Looks like someone didn't get up on time' _Dante mused as he watched the students pick themselves up and find their seats. Ruby noticed Dante and Athena and gave them an excited wave as she sat down. Dante and Athena returned small smiles as Port cleared his throat to begin his lecture.

"Monsters! The creatures of Grimm or as I like to call them . . . prey!"

Dante let out a small groan as Port dove into some story about his youth. He tried to pay attention but soon lost all interest in the story. He started to look at the student to entertain himself. Half were staring at Port as they started to fall asleep while a few others were taking notes. Dante noticed that Ruby was doodling on some scrape paper and making little noises to make her sister laugh.

Weiss was giving her a furious glare as she continued her shenanigans. Ruby then started to balance things on her fingers while making faces. How Port didn't even notice this, Dante wasn't sure but he couldn't help chuckling at Ruby's antics. He glanced at Weiss who was visibly shaking with anger and wondered '_I wonder how much longer before we get to see another little Schnee tantrum' _It didn't take long. Weiss shot up and shouted at Ruby.

"Ruby! Pay attention to the class!"

Everyone snapped their heads as they stared at the enrage princess. Port finally seemed to notice and cleared his throat.

"Is there a problem miss Schnee?" he asked in a slightly irritated tone.

Weiss looked around, just taking notice of the attention her outburst had gotten her. She sat back down as she grumbled a reply.

"No sir"

"Very well . . . now time for a little demonstration of a true huntsmen in action" Port said as he gestured to Dante. The students looked at Dante, even Ruby who had shrunk back at Weiss's outburst. Dante sighed a little and looked at Athena for a moment.

"Want me to scare them a little?" he asked in a whisper so only she could hear.

"I knew you were planning something," she whispered back. "Just don't do anything traumatizing."

He rolled his eyes at her as he stepped into the middle of the floor before the students. Port walked over to the cage before looking at Dante.

"No weapon?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No"

With that Port swung a blunder bust with an axe end at the lock holding the cages gate. A Boaratusk barged out of the cage running straight for Dante. He sidestepped as the Grimm careened past him and stopped before it hit the wall. It turned back at him before charging again. This time Dante hopped over it as it missed him again. Some of the students had begun to cheer him on as the Grimm stopped to face him again. It stamped its feet as it prepared to charge again while Dante looked at it, his hands in his pockets, and a bored look to his face.

The Grimm charged, this time rolling along its back as if some kind of bowling ball. As the Grimm was about to hit him Dante kicked out with his left effectively punting the Grimm back into a wall. The student suddenly got quiet as the Grimm shook itself, dazed from Dante's kick. It eyed Dante before snorting and charging again, this time the regular way. Dante pulled his right hand out of his pockets and held it slightly to his side. As soon as the Grimm was close enough Dante grabbed the back of its armored head stopping the Grimm dead in its tracks.

As it tried to back away and out of Dante's grip he began to slowly squeeze. Cracks spread around his fingers as the armor shattered under his grip. The Grimm let out a pained squeal but was soon silenced as Dante applied more force caving in the Grimm's skull. As the creature's corpse twitched Dante released his grip and raised his hand. Some of his fingers had gone into the skull and where now caked with a sickly, black fluid. Port quietly walked up to him with a small handkerchief before turning to the class full of shocked students.

"As you have just seen class, a full-fledged Huntsmen, a Slayer no less, can outmatch a Grimm without the need for even a weapon. Class is dismissed, cover the assigned readies by next class and remember . . . stay vigilant" he said as he walked towards the cage and began dragging it out a back door.

With the class dispersing Dante noticed that Weiss all but flew out of the room while Ruby seemed to drag her feet on her way out. '_Looks like someone needs a pep talk' _Dante thought as he finished cleaning his hand. He walked over to Athena who was shaking her head at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I thought I said no traumatizing," she replied as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Hey, I could have ripped that Boaratusk in half, guts flying ok. I was just a little bored so I thought I would make it interesting" he defended.

"Yes, by crushing it's skull with your bare hand. How is that not terrifying?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

Dante held up his hands in defeat. He sighed as he looked at her.

"Did you notice Weiss and Ruby on their way out?" he asked.

"Yes and I was thinking you should put you mentor skills to use," she replied.

"Mentor skills? When did I get those?"

"Right now, now get moving," she said as she pushed him towards the door. "I'll also go and have a talk with Weiss."

With that Dante made his way out following Ruby's scent. He walked along the hall and was about to round a corner but stopped when he heard Weiss and Ruby. He didn't catch the whole conversation but did get the last line.

"Not a team led by you . . . Ozpin made a mistake" Weiss finished.

Dante continued to listen as Weiss's steps trailed away. Then he heard a different sound. It was soft at first but slowly became a little clearer. Ruby was crying . . . Dante felt a little pained. It was ironic for someone like him, a predator, a _killer_, someone who had decided to push all others away from him for their own safety or to protect himself was now feeling caring about someone he barely knew. Dante tried not to learn too much about others for this reason. He became too caring, too protective if he got to know someone.

This connection had been used to hurt him before . . . betrayal, people hurt, people rejecting him. Even after all that, it was still part of him to try and protect others. The same thing had happened after Athena was injured in the battle. He reacted instead of thinking when he lounged for the lance, just barely making it in time. He thought back to the fear he felt as he moved to intercept it.

'_Will I make it? I have to save her! I can't fail! I can't . . . again' _Dante shook himself as he took a breath. Even if it was more for inspection and scouting he was still going to try and be a decent mentor. He slowly walked around the corner and looked for Ruby. She was a few steps in front of him, her hands were covering her face as she leaned against the wall, small tears dropping from her chin. Dante got a little closer before speaking.

"Ruby?" he asked in a soft tone.

She jumped a little as she tried to wipe away her tears. She looked up at him with slightly red eyes, puffy from her crying.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly.

Ruby stared at him for a moment before slowly shaking her head and then looking down at the ground.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He knew what it was but he wanted her to begin. If he made a hasty statement or assumption, he risked scaring her or making her uncomfortable.

"I-I had an argument with Weiss." She said in a small voice.

"And . . . ?" he continued.

"She doesn't think I'm cut out to be a leader and I-I don't know what to do. . . " she said as more tears started to stream down her eyes.

"Ruby . . . it's only been one day. You can't expect to know everything there is to being a leader. I know being set with that much responsibility is scary but you can't just give up." He said calmly.

"B – But what if I mess up or make her angry again or . . ." she trailed off as she looked at the ground again.

Dante didn't know how to respond to her worries. He himself wasn't used to having to work around teams, he just preferred going solo to avoid such circumstances. But he knew he couldn't leave Ruby like this so he tried his best to sound uplifting.

"It's ok. If you make a mistake, you'll learn from it. If you have another fight with Weiss then talk it out with her. There will always be some issues that you will have to work out as the leader of your team, ok?"

She gave him a weak nod but still wouldn't meet his gaze so he decided to add something.

"And if you ever need advice or just someone to talk to, you can just look for me. I'll be happy to give you advice whenever you need it." He said.

What Ruby did next Dante was not expecting. She stepped forward and placed her head on his chest as she began to sob again. He was taken back by her action and was unsure how to proceed but decided to let instinct take over. He placed one arm around her to give her a reassuring hug while his free hand began to slowly pet the back of her head. He patiently waited for Ruby to stop sobbing and look up at him. He gave her a small smile which she returned as she slowly pulled away, rubbing away some of the last tears.

"Thank you" she said in a small voice.

"You are welcome." He replied. She gave him another nod as she turned around headed back to her dorm.

Dante watched her leave as he his thoughts began to rage '_There you go again, taking in other's problems when you aren't even sure how to fix it. Are you just asking for more guilt? You chose a life of shadow, lies, and secrets. How can you expect her to trust you, believe in you? You aren't meant to be a hero like her . . . you are the monster that hides in darkness. Learn to accept it . . . or else the pain will never stop.' _Dante was so entrenched in his self-doubt that he didn't notice Athena approach from behind him. She tapped his shoulder making him jump at the sudden contact. He looked at her and saw how she was slowly inspecting him with almost a sad face. After a while he asked "What are you looking at?"

"You" was her reply.

Dante arched an eyebrow waiting for her to explain.

"You really do have a soft side huh. Not all mean, indifferent, and scary like the look you normally put out."

"I don't know what you are talking about," was the only reply he could think of.

"Oh please, I saw a good portion of that little scene. You don't have to be embarrassed or anything. I thought it was actually kind of sweet of you."

Dante sighed, he knew he was caught and didn't bother trying to think up any other excuses. He looked Athena in the eyes wondering if she had anything else to say on the matter. Apparently she did.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked.

"What?"

"Did you mean what you said about always being around if she needs someone to talk to?" Athena explained.

"I-It was in the heat of the moment but . . . yeah I did. I don't know her that well but I guess she's kinda growing on me. I want to try to help as best I can though I think I might have my work cut out for me."

"Its ok, I won't be your responsibility alone. I'm team RWBY's mentor as well so I can help out too." She said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, how did it go with Weiss?"

"Fine. I had to burst her bubble with a little reality check but I think she got the general idea. She left to take a walk around the campus and settle her thoughts. If they don't work things out then we will have to have a chat with the both of them. Though something tells me I might have to do that part alone. I'm pretty sure that if someone makes Ruby cry again they will have to worry about you so hopefully it won't come to that."

"Ok. Then let's had back to our dorm. We don't have any other classes for the day and I wanted to change so I can go into the city and shop for some food. You are welcome to tag along if you want." He said as he started to walk down the hall.

"Sure" said Athena in a cheery tone.

As they walked Dante couldn't help but think '_Today has been interesting. I just hope that Ruby and Weiss get settled . . .'_ He would have been relieved to know that the same night Weiss did apologize to Ruby but for now he settled with enjoying his outing with Athena.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Comments, opinions, reviews! Bring them forth!**


	8. Team Outing

**Author's Note: Team bonding and some fun times, yay! As always, I hope you all enjoy the story! Comment and feedbacks, regardless if this chapter is already old, is greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

The rest of the week had been rather boring for team ASCZ. They attended classes, played the role of mentors, and went on some practice missions with a group of fourth years. Simple enough, track a specific number of grimm, eliminate them and return with samples. Now it was finally Friday and the team was just about done with their day. Athena was messing around in the kitchen, Dante was sitting on the couch watching news, Lucian was sitting at the dinning table reading some book, and Crato was nowhere to be found. The air was relaxed but felt almost too quiet. Then the door slammed open as Crato walked into the dorm, towel around his neck drenched in sweat, fresh from the gym.

"Yo!" he said as he stepped into the middle of the dorm.

"Guys, it's the weekend and we don't have any assignments. Let's go out and have some fun!" he said.

Dante grunted as he stood up and headed to his room while he replied "Can't, already got some plans today. If you want my schedule is open tomorrow."

Crato turned to look at Lucian and Athena. Lucian had put down his book and looked back at him.

"Sure, it could be interesting," he said.

Crato then looked to Athena to see if she would also join in. Athena just gave him a small glare as she pondered how to respond to his invitation. '_If I go, he might just try to hit on me. Lucian is already going but I can't really hold much of a conversation with him. Dante already isn't going but I wonder what he actually has planned. I think I'll just stay home and watch a movie or something.' _

"No, I think I'll just stay home and watch a movie," she said.

Crato seemed a little disappointed that she wasn't going but didn't really let him drag him down much. He looked at Lucian before speaking.

"All right, it's just you and me partner. I'll go shower and we can head out in a few. Cool?"

"Yeah, I'll get changed while you shower. Any place you want to go in particular?" Lucian asked as he stood up.

"I got the address of some club. Apparently they get some good action every once in a while. I even heard some chick took out the entire club's bouncers and the owner at the same time." Crato replied.

Lucian arched his eyebrows as he heard the info about their destination. He seemed a little more interested in their destination for the night. They both went into their room as Athena continued to dig through the fridge for a decent movie snack. She found some vanilla ice cream Dante had bought at the beginning week and decided to turn it into a milkshake. Along with the groceries Dante had taken the liberty of buying several cooking utensils, appliances, and dishes.

Athena had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Dante was a bit of a cook since he usually cooked for himself during the 3 and ½ years he spent solo. She quickly whipped up her milkshake and placed it on the coffee table before returning to the kitchen looking for a pack of popcorn. She found it after a minute or so and about to place it in the microwave when she heard Dante come out of their room.

She turned to see him dressed for going out. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans, dark dress shoes, with a white button shirt, the sleeves rolled up to expose his wrists and part of the forearm, and white wraps instead of his usual black or silver. His shirt was tucked in and the top buttons were undone but the look worked for him. '_He looks like he's ready for a date or something' _she thought as she looked him over. Normally she would leave it alone but she let her curiosity get the better of her.

"Where are you going?" she asked with polite curiosity.

Dante looked at her for a moment as a slight blush tinted his cheeks before he responded. "I . . . got a date"

"Really?" she asked. She didn't mean to be rude but she found it very surprising to think Dante would be interested in such trivial things. She had seen some students try to flirt with him or try to get his attention but he had always ignored them or shot them right down. '_Maybe one of them was more persistent and finally got him to crack or something'_ she thought as Dante just gave her an awkward look.

"Yeah, she's a friend I met when I first came to Vale. She's not a student if that's what you are wondering." He said.

"Oh, ok. Have fun then" she said.

She wasn't sure why but she felt a little left out now that she knew why Dante wasn't up for spending time with the team. She didn't want him to notice that she felt a little down so she looked for something to tease or annoy him with. She looked at the uncooked popcorn pack in her hand and suddenly got a bright idea. She grinned up at Dante as she stuck her hand out at him holding the popcorn. He looked at with a questioning look, not sure as to why Athena had just stuck out the popcorn to him.

He looked back at her face, still grinning, searching for the answers. She just glanced at the pack waiting for him to take the hint. After another moment realization dawned on Dante as he looked again at the uncooked popcorn pack. He sigh as he took it from her hand and held it up in his palm. Athena watched as his hand began to steam with tints of silver and red coloring his fingers. After 35 seconds of popping and crackling Dante held a fully expanded, cooked pack of popcorn. He handed it back to her before heading for the door.

"See yah later" he said as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Athena was satisfied with her small amusement so he plopped herself down on the sofa and started to search channels for any good movies that might be on as she took sips of her vanilla milkshake. After about thirty minutes she decided on some horror flick and laid out flat on the sofa. Soon after Lucian and Crato appeared form their room dressed for their outing. Crato was dressed in a tight, long-sleeve, black shirt, a pair of jeans, and some light colored shoes. Lucian had a similar look but was dressed in a blue button down shirt with a black sport blazer on top. Lucian also had on a pair of rectangular glasses.

"You use glasses?" asked Athena. She couldn't remember ever seeing him need glasses for anything.

"No, but it's good to change up how we look whenever we go into the city. Assassin's need to be able to stay inconspicuous when traveling around a city they might need to work in." he explained.

"But won't your wolf ears tip people off about your identity anyway?"

"It's almost always dark and I move too fast to be seen whenever I go on a job so not really. Sometimes I even put on a simple black hat to cover up if I need to get past people without killing them" he explained.

"Oh, ok."

With that Crato and Lucian made their way to the door and started to step out. Crato turned around though and looked at Athena before speaking.

"Don't be worried if we don't come back tonight. You never know what might go down" he said with a wink before closing the door. Athena just groaned and looked back at the TV. '_Finally! Some peace and quiet.' _She thought as she resumed her movie.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lucian and Crato arrived outside the club after about 30 minutes of travel. The transport had been surprisingly empty and the streets themselves weren't that busy. Lucian was wondering if a Friday wasn't the most active time around here but didn't give it too much attention. He followed Crato as they walked up to the club entrance. It was in an out of the way part of town with nothing more than one glowing neon sign that said 'Club'.

'_How original' _Lucian mused as they made their way in. The bouncers didn't seem too concerned with the fact that he was a faunus so they got in rather easily. The inside was cool enough. Mostly black tile and white details along the edges and tables. The bar was a decent size, a variety of drinks lining the wall with 3 bartenders working the area. In the middle was a dance floor with a DJ station placed on the other end of the floor a level above the dancers. The DJ himself was dressed in black with a red tie and red shades. Oddly enough he was also wearing a big bear mask over his head. Lucian noticed that all the bouncers and bartenders were dressed in the same black suits with red ties and shades minus the bear mask. As he observed Crato tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"So dude, you wanna grab a drink first or snag a table?" he asked.

"I'll find a table, you get us some drinks. I'll have whatever you have. Need some cash?" Lucian replied as reached for his wallet. Crato held up his hand while shaking his head.

"Nah, first rounds on me" he said as he turned to walk to the bar.

Lucian found a small booth overlooking the dance floor as he waited for Crato to arrive with their drinks. Crato arrive after 5 minutes with 2 glasses full of an amber liquid. He set one down in front of Lucian as he took his spot opposite him. Lucian looked at the glass before picking it up and taking a sniff. '_Clear' _he thought before asking Crato what it was.

"Oakheart spiced rum with ice dust for a cool finish," replied Crato.

Then they both tapped their glasses together before each taking a large swig of the surprisingly hot drink. The cooling effect that followed the heat left a very satisfying numbing sensation in the back of the throat. Lucian let out a sigh as he placed the drink down and looked at the dance floor.

"See anything that you like?" asked Crato as he continued to down his drink.

"Not much" replied Lucian.

He wasn't much of a partier but on occasion he would like to head into clubs and let wild. He had an inner beast that needed to let loose just like Dante. Luckily his desires could usually be sated with a good fight or _other _physical releases. That was one of his larger reasons for agreeing to join Crato for this little outing but he also wanted to get to know his partner more. They hadn't talked too much during the week so Lucian was trying to make up for lost time. He turned back to Crato who had just finished his drink before he began.

"So Crato. What's up with you? Why are you here in the 'Slayer' program?"

Crato seemed to think for a moment before he responded.

"Honestly, there isn't really much to tell. I trained in one of the combat schools here in Vale and then gave it a go at one of the more advanced academies. Didn't make it into Beacon so I just went for the next best thing. It was some military academy in Atlas. I made it pretty easily through their tests but I wasn't too much of a team player. I also had a problem with some figures of authority. Most of those military up-tights were too by the book for my style. I ended up leaving after I got into a big brawl with another team and my team captain tried to intervene."

"What happened that you got expelled," Lucian asked.

"I ran him through with Gungnir. He tried pushing the original target out of the way and got hit himself, straight through the chest. Killed him instantly." He explained with an almost sad tone.

"And they didn't arrest you? I'm pretty sure that's attempted direct homicide and indirect homicide." Asked Lucian.

"I think they knew it was too much of a risk to try and they didn't want word to get out. I was brawling with a third year team and nearly killed them all, and I was a first year. Bunch of weaklings" he said in husky tone.

"They just settled for expelling me out of the academy and out of Atlas. I traveled around from there and started working as a mercenary and assassin. Paid pretty well and it let me go wild without really caring about following any rules. After 4 years I ran into an old friend who graduated from my school 3 years before me. He told me about the program and I went right for it. The rest is history." He finished.

Lucian looked at him closely. He was almost sure there was more to it then what Crato let on but he wouldn't look into it . . . for now. He thought about how to proceed until Crato spoke.

"So what about you?"

"Hm, I guess you could say I was just carrying on the family business. I trained in Vacuo until I completed a form standard combat training. Then instead of going for an advanced academy I was recruited by some associates to work as a private bodyguard for the higher ups of certain companies. Honestly it was more like an on call hitman. They would have me hunt down targets that would try to pursue my employers whenever they were on business travel. I stayed with the association for about 3 years until I was approached by scouts looking for promising assassins. Since I had the record and business's backing, they thought I would be very well suited for being a high grade assassin and offered me the chance at one of the shadow programs employed by the kingdoms. I chose Beacon and here I am."

"That's cool," Crato replied.

The duo got quiet then, observing the dance floor and bar to see if anything interesting happened to occur. Lucian then heard Crato whistle and looked to where he was looking. Crato was looking at the bar or more specifically 2 girls hanging at the bar. One had a red corset and skirt, knee high boots, and matching red gloves with a red feather decorating her hair. She also had a large red claw attached to one of her gloves. The other girl had a similar outfit though it was all white with the feathers around her shoulder and instead of a clawed glove she had blades attached to the ends of her boots. Carto then turned to Lucian, '_Don't tell me you are about to . . .' _Lucian thought.

"Dude, I'm going to see if those chicks would be interested in little old Crato" he said with a wink. "Don't wait up" he finished as he stood and began walking to the bar.

Lucian watched with a mix of amusement and fascination at Crato drive. He thought after getting rejected so harshly by Athena the guy would have his self-esteem a little doused. Looks like that was not the case. He observed as Crato approached the girls wondering if he could pull it off. After a few minutes Lucian got bored at watching the girls seem to rebuff Crato's advances so he returned his attention to the dance floor. As he watched he considered leaving since he was bored and Crato had said he didn't have to wait for him.

He was about to get up when something caught his eye. He noticed a women approaching him from the dance floor. She was wearing a single black dress that reached mid high. She had dark brown hair that just barely spilled over her shoulders, lightly tanned skin, luscious red lips and dark brown eyes. Her figure was astounding, turning heads as she walked towards him. Lucian watched, transfixed by her beauty as she sat across from him, her eyes studying him up and down. After a few minutes Lucian was the first to speak since he didn't smell anything off about her or notice any hidden weapons.

"Hello?"

"Hi" was her reply as she gave him a teasing smile.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"Rea"

"Pleasure Rea, I'm Lucian." He replied. "What can I do for you?" he asked in a smooth tone.

"Well Lucian, I couldn't help but notice that your friend left you all alone. I thought I could give you some company" she replied, a mischievous look in her eyes.

'_Oh, now we are getting somewhere' _he thought as stood from the table. "Would you like to dance?" he asked. Normally he would be more cautious around strangers but he really felt like he needed to unwind and the alcohol was already at work.

She nodded and the pair made their way to the dance floor. Once they began to dance Lucian noticed how well Rea could move. Most of his attention has focused on the swing of her hips as they slowly got closer and closer. Their bodies lightly touched before Rea suddenly had one arm around Lucian's neck. They continued for some time until Rea suddenly leaned up into Lucian's ear and whispered.

"This is fun but I would rather go somewhere _quieter _if you don't mind" she finished in a seductive tone.

Lucian responded by bringing his arm around her waist and pulling her closer making their noses touch.

"By all means, lead the way" he said as he stared into the darkness of her eyes. She just gave him wink before turning on her heal and pulling him away by the hand towards the club entrance. Lucian got one last look at Crato before he was out the door. Crato was still at it with the two girls though this time he was in the middle of them, both giggling at some joke he told them. '_Looks like we both got some luck tonight' _was his last thought before he followed Rea to wherever she wanted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dante was on his way back to his dorm. He had been gone for around 3 hours and was enjoying the calm evening. He had left that night to go on a small date with Amber back in the city. After their dinner the first day he met her, Dante regularly hung out with her on her off hours while he waited the week out before heading to Beacon. She was cute, friendly, funny, and didn't seem scared of him at all which he found very pleasing. He had told her about how he was a hunter going to Beacon to further his skills and even shown her some of his abilities.

The look on her face when he had picked up a random car with easy was priceless. Her eyes got so wide he thought she might actually faint but then she started to jump around excitedly asking what else he could do. She regretted that question when he picked her up and started jumping up buildings. She panicked and clutched on to him for dear life but that just made Dante laugh. He reassured her she was totally fine and then dropped her off at her apartment with her directions.

That had been almost a week ago and Dante had honestly missed her. She was a year younger than him and rather silly in adorable ways. Around the middle of the week Dante decided to call her up and asked if she wanted to do anything together that weekend. She had suggested catching a late night movie and then offered to cook dinner for him. He obliged and met her that Friday. She was dressed in some tight jeans with a green blouse and her navy jacket over it.

They chose a random comedy movie and then walked the way back to Amber's apartment. Dante had offered to get them their quicker but she said she wanted to enjoy the walk so he made do with it. As they had walked Dante was surprised as Amber's hand lightly brushed his before she actually grabbed on to his hand. He gave her a glance noting her blush but didn't remove his hand. Instead he gave her a soft squeeze letting her know it was fine. She gave him a warm smile and then they continued their walk in relative silence.

Once at the apartment Amber made them a light and tasty meal. A green apple and spinach salad with grilled chicken and pasta alfredo. They ate while chatting about how their week had been. Dante decided to leave out details that were a little more graphic such as the severity of Athena's injury or how he threatened to kill Crato if he did it again. He didn't want to scare Amber with the reality of the 'Slayers' so he thought best to avoid being over descriptive.

She was very interested in hearing about his team and excited when he said they had been made mentors for the younger students. After they finished the meal Dante hung around for a little longer enjoying Amber's presence. When he decided to leave, he also gave Amber her own surprise. He gave her a small kiss when she was saying goodbye. She gave him a surprised look before she gave him a big smile and also a tight hug which he gladly returned. Then he said his final goodbyes before heading out of the apartment.

Once outside Dante decided that he could get to Beacon faster if he went by foot and dashed off in the school's direction. He arrived in about 30 minutes and was about to walk into the room. He opened up to see Athena lounging on the sofa with a bored face. He looked to the TV and saw that her movie had finished and now she was just watching some late night news. She finally noticed him when he closed the door behind him and walked up to her.

"How was your date?" she instantly asked.

"Well isn't someone nosy?" he replied with fake annoyance. "It was fine, thank you"

"Just fine?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" he asked as he gestured for her to move her legs so he could sit.

She scrunched up her legs to make room as he sat and then placed her legs back on top of his lap.

"Off."

"No, I was here first and I was comfortable. You just have to deal with it."

He sighed in defeat as she grinned before asking him. "So nothing interesting happened?"

"Are you really that curious?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm bored and now you've arrived. Start talking."

"It was nice, I took me friend to a movie, and then we had dinner at her place."

"Her _place _huh. Are you sure nothing happened?" she asked with a shit-eating grin.

"I only gave her a kiss so get those thoughts under control."

". . . That's it? I thought you would have been more daring" Athena said with a disappointed look.

"Just what do you expect of me?" Dante asked.

Now he wanted to know what kind of person his partner was seeing him as. Sure he could be annoying and loved teasing her whenever he could but he wasn't a hound or something. That was obviously Crato's thing and Dante wasn't really that interested in '_jumping around'. _

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I guess I had the image that you liked playing around since you were more or less shameless when we were at the opening ceremony, picked me up and held me close during the initiation, and then that little scene with Ruby wa-"

"I was just comforting her. She's _fifteen _for crying out loud! I don't go after little girls . . ."

"So defensive" Athena teased.

Dante started thinking of some way to get back at her. He looked at her feet on his lap and got an idea. He gave her a smirk before wrapping one arm around her legs to prevent escape. Before she could say anything his free hand started tickling the soles of her feet. Athena started screaming with laughter as she struggled in vain to get loose.

"D-Dante! S-Stop i-it! This isn't f-fair, let go!" she shouted through fits of laughter.

Dante on his end was not even thinking of stopping. He was going to make her sorry she teased him and kept going until Athena barely couldn't breathe. He gave her a break but kept her legs locked as she recovered.

"You aren't going to do that again are you?" she asked, a tone of worry in her voice.

"Why? Worried that you might pee yourself this time?" he asked as he prepped his hand to go into another session.

"N-No!" she replied as a blush appeared across her face.

Dante laughed a little at the face she was making and decided to show mercy and finally released her legs. Athena retracted her legs immediately to avoid being captured again before pouting at Dante.

"You're mean. I was just trying to make a funny conversation"

"You reap what you sow" was Dante's reply.

Athena responded by sticking her tong out at him. Dante was tempted to flick her in the nose as his response but didn't get the chance. They both turned their heads as they heard someone walk through the door. It was Lucian. He was dressed in some good jeans, button shirt and sport blazer but looked like a mess at the same time. His shirt buttons were mismatched and the rim was untucked. His blazer looked like it had become very well acquainted with a street floor, and his belt was undone.

His glasses were crooked '_Wait . . . Glasses?' _and his hair was an utter mess. Dante would have asked if something was wrong but then noticed a bite mark on Lucian's neck, lipstick marks on his chin, and the distinct smell of . . . humanly contact. He started to grin as Lucian walked into the kitchen, got a glass of water, and then headed to his room without a word. Before he closed the door Dante couldn't help but shout.

"Walk of SHAME!"

"Shut it!" Lucian replied before the door was shut.

When a few seconds past, Dante looked at Athena before they both erupted in laughter. Even while laughing Dante could hear Lucian groaning in his room, fully aware that he was going to be subject to merciless joking later on. After some time the pair finally managed to control themselves enough to speak.

"Isn't it ironic that the wolf is the one who got bitten?" Athena asked as she wiped away some tears of mirth.

"Beats me. He looked like he had a blast though"

"Ok. I think that's enough laughter for today. Let's go to sleep, it's already pretty late" said Athena as she turned off the TV still chuckling. Dante got up and followed her, more than ready to pass out after a rather enjoyable night. He stepped into the bathroom to change into a pair of shorts for sleeping when he remembered something. '_Oh yeah, there's that tomorrow' _he thought as he stepped out. He got on his bed before looking at Athena, already in her sheets.

"Hey," he said.

"Mm?"

"Tomorrow we promised to spar with team RWBY in the morning. I'm going to set an alarm for 9:30. Ok?"

"Ok . . . goodnight" Athena said before she almost instantly started to snooze.

Dante smiled at the site finding it cute how Athena could fall asleep so quickly. He then shut his eyes and drifted off. '_Sorry girls but I'm not soft when it comes to training' _he mused before finally passing out himself.


	9. Training or Beatdown?

**Author's Note: Time for some training! How shall the students fair against their mentors? Let's find out. Hope everyone enjoys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

The alarm went off too soon in Dante's opinion. He had stayed up last night and now had to get up to meet team RWBY for some good old sparring. Granted, he wished he had planned ahead better and reserved an arena for a later hour. Sadly the reservation had been made before he had invited Amber out so now he was paying the price. He groaned as he got out of bed to silence the infernal sound.

Once silenced, he looked over to the still sleeping Athena. He walked over and gave a light shake to stir her. She mumbled a little before opening one eye to look at Dante. She then let out her own groan as she sat up, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"Morning" she said in a sleepy voice.

"Morning" Dante replied as he made his way to his dresser to get changed.

Since he wasn't planning on leaving the campus today he got lightly dressed into a pair of black shorts and sleeveless silver shirt before going to the bathroom to switch from his white wraps to his black wraps. Once changed he brushed up and left the bathroom for Athena to use. As she passed him she surprised him with a question.

"You go to the bathroom just to swap wraps? Why?"

Dante stiffened up, unprepared for the question. '_Dammit! First Lucian and now Athena? I really got to think up some way to avoid any more questions . . . at least until I think they are ready to know the truth'_. Dante glanced at Athena before giving her one of his fallback answers.

"I . . . have some really bad scars along my arms from a few years back. I prefer not to show them if that's alright with you . . ."

Athena looked at him questioningly but didn't push further. She nodded before turning and stepping into the bathroom. Dante sighed in relief, glad that Athena seemed to be more understanding than some individuals he had met in his travels. Most people immediately go into questions about what happened or how bad was it and it annoyed him to no end.

He sat down on his bed waiting for Athena so they could head down to the cafeteria and grab a quick breakfast. He had also told team RWBY to meet him there so they could go to the arena together so Dante could explain what today's 'training' would consist of without wasting their allotted time. He planned to first go up against each pairing to get a sense of how they interacted while still analyzing how each fought individually.

Then he would put the entire team against him and try to get a read on how they worked as a team or maybe he would just take them all on first just to warm up a little. '_I wonder how much they can take before they give up.' _ He mused as Athena reappeared dressed in some workout shorts and a blue tank top. Dante stood up and slipped on some sandals as he made his way to their door while Athena popped a question.

"Sandals? Are you sure that's a good idea for a sparring session?"

"Actually I was going to fight bare foot. I just don't want to walk around campus without wearing something on my feet" Dante replied.

"What about your sword?"

"No need. I don't draw that blade unless I intend to kill" he said with a slightly cold tone.

"Ok" was Athena's only reply.

She would have asked more but Dante's tone did really leave any room for further discussion so they walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria in relative silence. The cafeteria was partially filled, most students probably sleeping in since it was Saturday. The pair quickly got their breakfasts, plates topped with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast.

They started searching for a table to sit before Dante spotted a waving hand. Ruby and the rest of her team were seated close to the back wall of the cafeteria and it looked like they wanted them to join them.

Dante and Athena stepped toward the table, two spots left open at one end of the table beside Ruby, which surprisingly had more than just team RWBY. Sitting across from them was team JNPR, also digging into their breakfasts. Dante sat down beside Ruby and Athena then sat to his left.

"Good morning Dante! Morning Athena!" Ruby nearly shouted. Dante gave her a small smile though he was a little worried that Ruby looked too energetic for an early Saturday morning. He gave her a quick nod and said his greetings to the rest before he started digging into his breakfast. While he ate some of the others began to speak.

"This is going to be awesome! Today's our first training session with our mentors." Said Ruby.

"You got that right, can't wait to let loose!" agreed Yang.

"How can you guys be so excited? Aren't you even a little nervous about facing _Slayers_?" asked Jaune.

"Oh, they'll be fine! Team RWBY is tough!" said Nora.

At her statement Dante chuckled a little earning him some curious looks. He gave Athena a quick glance before returning to his meal ignoring the looks.

"What? Don't think we can handle you?" asked Yang.

"Yeah, they took down a full grown Nevermore!" exclaimed Nora.

"Umm guys? I'm pretty sure two Slayers is a little tougher than one Nevermore . . ." said Jaune.

"Just one," interjected Athena.

The first years turned to her in surprise, clearly not expecting that detail.

"Wait. Only one of you is going to fight us!?" asked Blake, speaking for the first time.

"Aren't you underestimating us?" asked Weiss in a partly irritated tone.

"Yeah, neither of you is really even dressed to fight!" added Yang.

"Just Dante will be enough. Maybe later on I might step in if he gets too rough. Hopefully it won't be too much since he isn't even going to be armed," replied Athena.

With that, the first years looked at Dante with a mix of disbelief and obvious annoyance from Weiss and surprisingly Blake.

"Um, Dante. Is it really ok for you to face them unarmed and dressed so casually," asked Pyrrha.

Dante cleaned the last of his breakfast before finally speaking.

"It's fine. I could handle them even if your team joined them," he said.

Both Pyrrha and Nora seemed to get irritated with the claim. Ren kept a perfect poker face while Jaune shuddered, clearly not keen on trying to prove Dante wrong.

"Then let's all go against you and see!" exclaimed Nora and Yang in unison. Athena scuffed at them earning a few glares.

"Sweetie, if you want to fight Dante, I suggest getting Lucian's approval first or just fight him. He is just as much of a monster as this one . . ." she said as she gestured to Dante. "Crato too, though I don't think any of you would survive with the level of control he has."

"They can't be that scary" interjected Weiss. Athena gave her a look of disapproval before continuing.

"Does the image of a Boaratusk having its skull crushed ring any bells?" she asked. All the first years started to pale with that statement clearly remembering the little demonstration they witnessed for their first class.

Before anything else could be said Dante stood up and started speaking "Enough. Let's head to the arena and get started. We have arena 5 from 11am to about 3 pm." He didn't say anything else as he started walking away from the table. He soon deposited his dishes and made for the door with Athena close behind. As he neared the doors he heard the girls whispering not far behind.

"We will show him that we aren't pushovers." Said Yang.

"He is in for a surprise" added Weiss. Dante could help bit smirk at what he was hearing. '_Oh, I'm not the one that's in for a surprise' _thought Dante as he headed for the arena.

Once they arrived Dante quickly explained the rules while he removed his sandals and took his spot at one end of the arena.

"The rules are simple. You continue attacking until I say stop. I'll leave your aura meters on display so you can judge how to attack or defend. Hold back or shy away and I'll attack harder. Any questions?"

None of the girls responded as Athena set up the overhead displays and team JNPR sat in the observance stands. On one side were the girl's names with respective aura bars while Dante's was alone with his bar. Each showed 100% aura reading. The girls then each took their stances, weapons at the ready while Dante studied them, arms crossed. After a few moments Dante shouted "Begin".

Ruby was the first to move lounging straight for Dante in a flurry of rose petals with an overhead sweep of her scythe aimed at his torso. Dante waited until the last moment before ducking underneath the strike as Ruby sailed over him caught up in her own momentum. As Dante straightened Yang rushed in with a barrage of fists trying to make any contact.

Dante seemed almost bored as he effortlessly dodge each strike while still keeping his arms crossed. This seemed to only anger Yang as she tried harder to land a hit. She threw a right cross aimed for Dante's cheek but he stopped it with left hand. Before Yang could retract her hand Dante closed his grip latching on to her knuckle. Yang pulled her hardest but couldn't even budge as Dante held fast. Then before Yang could try to attack with her free hand Dante pulled her off her feet and tossed her like a sack of flour at Blake, who had been trying to sneak behind Dante.

Blake noticed too late and was flattened by her blonde partner. Dante then turned his attention to Weiss, who had yet to attack while Blake and Yang recovered, Ruby close beside them. Weiss looked shaken at the easy with which Dante handled her team but shook it of as she prepared to use a spell to propel her forward. She never got the chance though since Dante was already beside her before she could even conjure the glyph and used a sweep kick to knock her down on her back. Dante then leapt back to let them recover. The girls eyed him, more wary of his speed and obvious skill.

'_Ok, enough playing. Time to get a little serious' _he mused before he spoke up. "Just so you know, I fully intend to start attacking ladies."

The girls exchanged nervous looks before taking up more defensive stances. Dante smirked before he lounged forward. He started with Ruby. He closed the distance to her in an instant before throwing a left jab. Ruby blocked with her scythe but failed to notice Dante's hand had wrapped around the hilt of the scythe. He pulled it up along with her clean off her feet before delivering a palm strike to her gut sending her flying up while also disarming her.

Then he twisted around and dashed toward Blake while releasing the scythe. She tried to slash away at his torso with her blade but he just dodged before delivering a hook to her side sending her sprawling across the arena. Dante then wheeled around as Yang tried to pummel him from overhead. He responded with a roundhouse kick straight into her shoulder also sending her flying into Ruby, who had landed not too far off, still winded from his previous strike.

He then turned on Weiss who this time already have a glyph conjured, firing off ice blasts towards him. Though Dante could have just flared his aura to evaporate the strikes he preferred simply dodging them as he closed on to Weiss. He dashed around her while avoiding her rapier thrusts until he reached her back. Before she could defend herself Dante used a backhand strike with his left, straight into the middle of her shoulders knocking her forward several feet before she tumbled to a stop.

Dante again waited until the girls were all standing again and then looked at the overhead display. He smirked as he returned his gaze to the girls and spoke up.

"That's enough. You get a five minute break and then we go for round two."

The girls gave him questioning looks to which he simply pointed up. They followed his direction and looked at the display. All four looked with shocked expressions as they read the display. Ruby was already in the red while the other three were in the yellow, Yang the only one barely above 50%. They looked back at Dante, confusion and disbelief evident across their faces.

Dante shrugged as he spoke "I hit pretty hard. Don't worry though, most people I fight are usually out by one hit." '_Though I did hold back quite a bit' _he thought as he reassumed his stance, arms crossed waiting for the 5 minutes to pass.

* * *

Athena watched the sparring with little surprise as Dante wiped the floor with team RWBY. Every round lasted only about a minute or so with none of the girls managing to so much as scratch him. Dante on his part seemed to be taking it easy just barely grazing the girls with small punches and a few kicks. She knew he could move at ridiculous speeds and shatter through stone like sand but still felt that even while holding back he was still being a little too rough.

After about 8 rounds all four members of team RWBY looked like they had been run over by a stampede. Yang was covered in bruises and slouching one shoulder, probably from Dante's kick. Ruby's feet were shaking, one leg supporting most of her weight since Dante at one point had caught her shin mid run and slammed her into the ground. Blake looked exhausted, a cut on her lip from a well-placed jab and one arm cradling her side.

Weiss was on one knee while using her rapier to balance herself while she was struggling to breathe curtesy of one knee straight into her diaphragm. All their aura meters were at around 15% while Dante himself looked like he had just been taking a stroll, meter still at 100% and not a dot of sweat on him.

Athena was beginning to wonder how long Dante planned on torturing the girls but didn't really want to interrupt either. She knew that one lesson most Huntsmen and Huntresses had to learn was that some opponents are simply way out of your league and they need to learn when to back down. It could be a tough pill to swallow but ego and pride could only get you so far, she had personally been taught that lesson during her training in Mistral.

For a moment Athena saw a memory of one of her trials. Simple mission, sneak into a location, find the target, recover it and escape. She had managed to find it relatively easily but had not been informed that one of her superiors would act as an obstacle. Her superior had easily bested her and given her a choice. Try to kill him and get the target, a file, risking her life or run away and fail. She had tried to beat him but couldn't and was then forced to retreat with a crushing sense of shame and quite a few broken bones.

After she returned to the training grounds, another of her superiors had informed her that she had passed. The test was meant to result in failure, a way to break their egos and pride. Her superior said that to be an assassin or spy, any form of pride was pointless. If the only option was underhanded, cowardly, or downright cruel she would be expected to take it without complaints. No pride, no honor, just a mission and survival, that was how she had to think.

She shook her head of the memory and focused back on the arena. The 5 minute break was about to be up but then Dante spoke.

"That will be enough fighting against me. Go get some water. Next you each will be facing Athena one on one. You have 30 minutes."

With that Dante strode off the arena and came up to Athena.

"Hope you don't mind. I want to see how that each fight alone but if it's me they will be way to defensive. That don't know what you can do so I can get a fresh look at how they interact with new opponents."

"That's fine. I was getting bored of watching anyway." She replied.

It was partially true, she was bored but she also didn't want her memories to start bugging her now so she preferred to get moving. '_I didn't bring my weapon either though. Oh well I doubt I'll need it. Yang's the only one that seems to throw heavy hits. The others seem to rely a lot more on speed and surprise rather than strength'_.

Athena started walking onto the arena while Dante replaced his name with hers and her aura meter. Then they patiently waited for the girls to return, each looking a little better. They each lined up along the arena but only Ruby got on since she was going up against Athena first. She glanced at the overhead display. Ruby's aura was at about 50%. She then looked back at Ruby who was already in a defensive stance eyeing her with caution. '_She probably thinks I'll do the same thing as Dante . . . well I do plan on using unarmed techniques but I'm not as direct as Dante.' _she mused.

"Come on Ruby. Let me see what you're made of" she called trying to get Ruby to initiate.

She nodded in response before hefting up her scythe and rushing forward in a flurry of rose petals. Athena stepped out of the attack and began weaving back and forth as Ruby spun around her scythe trying her best to catch onto her. She made one wide arc to get around Athena's guard but to no avail as Athena stepped into the strike, one hand grabbing onto the hilt of the scythe while her free hand smacked Ruby clean under the chin knocking her back losing the grip on her weapon again.

Athena waited for Ruby to stand before tossing her back her weapon. Under normal circumstances she would have made use of the scythe but this was a test to see her ability and Athena doubted Ruby could do much without her weapon. She then took a low stance, legs wide, arms propped up, hands open and waited for Ruby to strike again. After a moment Ruby switched to using the sniper function of her scythe firing off several rounds at Athena.

In response Athena surged forward maneuvering between the shots until she was on top of Ruby. Before she could react Athena jumped over the scythe and connected a kick into Ruby's shoulder knocking her down. Before Ruby could recover Athena had her foot on Ruby's stomach, keeping her down. Athena glanced up for a moment to look at the aura meters and noted that Ruby was at 20%.

"That's enough" she said as she removed her foot and helped Ruby up. Ruby looked crestfallen at having been beaten so easily so Athena decided to say something nice to help her feel better.

"Hey, you did pretty well. Don't beat yourself up, ok?" she said in her most reassuring tone. Ruby seemed to perk up a little before walking off the arena being replaced by Yang.

While Athena reassumed her position Yang waited, already in a boxing stance. Once both opponents were in position Athena directed for Yang to begin. Yang dashed forward to start her attack while Athena prepared to defend. Unlike Dante, she didn't dodge all the punches but used her own strikes to meet Yang half way and deflect or redirect her assault. Athena could tell that Yang was probably even with her in terms of strength but was outclassed in experience and skill.

Athena capitalized on the difference and started to throw jabs at faster rates in between Yang's punches. She landed strikes on Yang's cheek, shoulder, and side before stepping into her guard and delivering one straight punch right into Yang's gut. It was the same strike Athena had used on Crato minus the crystal coating but still had the desired effect. Yang was completely winded, hunched over form the impact. Before she could recover Athena surged forward and delivered an uppercut to Yang's downturned face sending her reeling back onto the floor.

Athena looked up at the meters and saw that Yang was at roughly 15% and decided it was enough.

"We are done Yang, good fight though" she said as she walked over to the dazed blonde. She noticed that Yang had a nosebleed but otherwise looked ok. She helped her up checking to see if there were any other injuries while Yang gave her a small smile.

"You say that your team is scary but you pack a punch too. Damn, that hurt!" said Yang with a goofy look on her face. Athena couldn't help but return a smile as she helped Yang off the arena. Once off Dante came over to give Yang a once over. He seemed satisfied and instructed for Blake to follow as Athena took her spot yet again.

As Blake got into her stance she looked at Athena before she asked a question "Are you sure you don't need a weapon? It's not the same blocking blades compared to Yang's gauntlets or Ruby's scythe."

"It's fine, you can't always be sure you'll be well armed when facing an opponent in the field, now let's go" she replied.

Blake didn't look too reassured but started her attack none the less. Athena switched to evasion as she tried to get a read to Blake's movements. '_She is definitely faster than Yang and the dual wielding doesn't make it any easier to get close enough for an attack. Even if I try to back away she can still shoot at me. I guess I could do that . . .'_ Athena thought as Blake continued her assault.

Then Athena stopped back peddling and braced for Blake's next swing. Blake brought her cleaver down in an attempt to catch Athena's shoulder but was met with a surprise. A loud clang was heard as sparks flew from where Blake's cleaver had landed. Blake jumped back in shock to see that Athena's wrist and forearm weren't bare at all. They were covered in dark blue crystal bracers.

Athena smirked as she shook some tension out of her arm from the impact. She then brought both her arms up for Blake to see her impromptu armor.

"See? I don't have much of a problem dealing with blades even if I'm unarmed"

Blake didn't reply but looked far more hesitant on attacking now that she knew Athena could form crystal armor in a moment's notice. Athena though didn't give Blake any time to think of a plan of attack as she lunged forward. Now Blake was on the defensive trying to block Athena's punches, sparks flying from the collision of metal and crystal. Soon Athena forced open Blake's guard and delivered a kick straight into her chest before wheeling around and delivering a roundhouse into Blake's unprotected side. There was an audible crack as Blake fell several feet to the side clutching her side. '_Oops' _she thought as she went over to check on Blake. She helped Blake up as Dante came over to them.

"How you feeling Blake?" he asked.

"I-I've been better . . . I'm pretty sure I broke a rib or two" she replied.

"Sorry about that, kinda got a little too worked up." Added Athena.

"Ok, well last is Weiss." Dante said as he helped Blake off the arena.

Athena looked at Weiss, who looked significantly paler, and noticed that someone had arrived behind her. It took her a moment to recognize it as Lucian. He looked like he'd been working out, sweat covering part of his red shirt and dark grey shorts. Athena gave him a wave to which he responded in kind as Dante arrived beside him. They chatted for a bit while Weiss walked up onto the arena and took up her stance. Her hand was visibly shaking but otherwise looked prepared. Athena then signaled for her to begin.

Weiss hesitated for a moment before she conjured a glyph to propel her forward. Athena sidestepped the attack and took up a defensive pose. She already knew how quickly Weiss could move forward from watching in the initiation so she wasn't going to be caught off guard. Weiss closed back on Athena using a variety of glyphs around and above Athena to attack from every direction. Athena kept her focus on evading, waiting for the opportune moment to retaliate not noticing she had stepped over one of the glyphs. The moment she was in the center the glyph turned black as the gravity surrounding her intensified, effectively stopping her movement.

Weiss moved in prepared to deliver a strike at Athena's chest but did notice that Athena had armed herself. The tip of the rapier was deflected by a small crystal blade in Athena's hand. Just then the glyph faded and before Weiss could even realize Athena had moved she felt the edge of the blade pressed under her chin, Athena standing behind her with a cold glint in her eyes. Weiss didn't dare even breathe as Athena whispered softly.

"If this had been a real fight, you would have been dead several times over . . . never underestimate an opponent" she said devoid of any emotion before she finally lowered the blade. Weiss was absolutely terrified but luckily she didn't see Athena's face. That would have sent her straight into a heart attack.

Weiss didn't move until Dante told her to sit with the rest of her team while he walked up to Athena. Once Weiss was out of earshot Dante spoke.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" she replied.

"That look, that move. It looked like you were ready to slit her throat and just barely stopped yourself. Then you go and scare Weiss senseless with the comment on how she would have been dead several time over . . . and I thought I was harsh" said Dante.

"Sorry, I guess I let myself slip . . . won't happen again," she said in an even tone.

Dante didn't look too convinced but left it at that before speaking up to address the first years.

"Alright team RWBY, you did pretty well overall. Now it's Lucian's turn with team JNPR."

Dante then walked off the arena and began to set up the display for Lucian and team JNPR while the contestants assembled. Athena let out a sigh as she jumped off and walked to team RWBY. The girls looked at her as she approached, Weiss still looking very pale. Athena decided to try for some conversation rather than stand in awkward silence.

"How is everyone doing?"

"I think we're ok. Yang's nose isn't broken and Dante made sure Blake's broken rib wouldn't cause any problems later on" responded Ruby in a quieter tone than normal.

"That's good" said Athena before she looked at Weiss. The heiress met her gaze for a moment before mumbling a question.

"W-Was it r-really necessary to say that?" she asked in a small voice.

Athena frowned a little, unsure of how to proceed with her question. She decided on honesty as the best way.

"Sorry about that . . . it just sometimes nasty memories surface up when less expected. I'm sorry if I frightened you." She said.

Weiss looked at her for a while before giving a small nod "Its ok. It just startled me is all . . . you know, you and Dante really are strong. I don't think even some of my instructors had that much skill, unarmed no less."

"That was rather impressive" Blake added.

"Makes me shudder a little at the thought of you guys going all out," said Ruby who got agreeing nods from the others.

"I bet it would awesome though!" Yang said excitedly. "You guys got to show us some moves later"

Athena gave her a small smile. "Maybe. I'll talk to Dante about it."

She then sat down beside the girls to observe Lucian's fight against team JNPR. The display was set and the team was already in position while Lucian stood at the opposite end of the arena. Dante stayed by the side of the arena watching intently.

"No weapon either?" commented Yang

"I don't think he uses any," answered Athena.

The girls looked at her with questioning looks. "How did they destroy the temple then?" asked Ruby.

"With their fists, how else?" answered Athena.

She wasn't sure if people eyes should get that wide but didn't really blame the girls, it was scary knowing just how strong Lucian and Dante could be if they got serious. They then all looked back at the arena as Lucian shouted to begin.

Nora jumped forward with Ren close behind. Lucian sidestepped the hammer strike and then leapt out of Ren's reach as he swiped at him with the bladed ends of his guns. Lucian then started to run around them as Pyrrha, Ren and Nora began to unload shell after shell. It looked like after seeing team RWBY get tossed around they weren't going to take any chances versus their mentor. Jaune stood off to the side of the group, shield raised in case Lucian made a maneuver for the flank of the group.

After a few moments of running around Lucian surged forward and jumped over the middle of the group landing right behind them. Before any could react Lucian tripped up Nora, then jabbed Ren in the back of the knee forcing him down. Lucian then stroke at Pyrrha, who had managed to raise her shield up at the last moment though it didn't stop the blow from sending her careening across the arena. Jaune surged forward in an attempt to ram Lucian with his shield but was stopped as Lucian grabbed the edges of his shield and threw Jaune at the recovering Nora sending them both tumbling.

Lucian then turned his attention to Ren. Ren started a series of chain attacks consisting of swipes and jabs with his guns at Lucian but couldn't even get close as Lucian evaded each attack with practiced skill. Then Lucian counter in a series of jabs aimed at Ren's arms. One in particular connected with the base of Ren's left arm, just above the armpit. Ren jumped back with a grunt of pain as he struggled to maintain his arm up. It didn't help much as Lucian closed in and delivered a solid kick into Ren's gut, knocking him onto his back.

Then Nora appeared overhead with a hammer strike coming straight down towards Lucian's head. Lucian looked up before raising one hand to stop the hammer. He caught the hit, cracks forming around his feet from the pressure but otherwise Lucian didn't even look bothered though Athena could've sworn she saw Nora's teeth chatter as the force traveled up her arms. Before Nora even landed Lucian caught her in the gut with a palm strike launching her away.

Lucian then turned his attention to Pyrrha who was approaching with caution, Jaune to her right in a similar position. Lucian waited for them to get within rang before he suddenly dashed forward at Jaune and clipped him across the cheek with one strong punch. While he fell back Lucian turned on Pyrrha who was in the middle of slashing at him. Instead of dodging Lucian caught her blade with one hand, much to Pyrrha's surprise. Too shocked to notice Pyrrha was then kicked with a roundhouse just below the shoulder with a good pop sounding across the arena.

Athena and team RWBY watched with mouths wide open, astounded with how Lucian seemed to effortlessly take out team JNPR. Athena glanced up and noticed that all members of team JNPR were already below 50%. Ren was trying to stand with one arm limp at his side, Jaune looked to dazed to even try to stand, Nora wasn't fairing any better as she used her hammer for support, and Pyrrha had a look of pain as she clutched at her shoulder.

'_He is worse than Dante! Is he trying to kill them?'_ Lucian then walked over to Pyrrha and looked at her shoulder before whispering something. Before Pyrrha could reply his palm stroke her arm making another pop sound mixed with a yelp of pain from Pyrrha. '_At least he fixed her shoulder. What about Ren?' _Athena had her answer when Lucian walked over to Ren and with a few quick jabs seemed to fix whatever damage he had caused.

Athena looked at Dante waiting to see if Lucian would repeat the same process they had done with team RWBY but then Dante began to remove the overhead display.

"That's enough for today everyone. Good job altogether and congrats to team JNPR, you survived." He said. Dante then walked over to where Athena and the others were siting.

"So, what do you guys want to do now?" he asked as soon as he arrived.

"Hm, I think some kind of reward is in order. They did pretty well, don't you think?" responded Athena.

"Reward? Like what?" asked Ruby, looking excited at the idea. The other girls seemed curious as well since they all turned to look at Dante.

Before Dante could think up a reply Athena got a bright idea. "Did you girls know that Dante can cook?" she asked. She glanced at Dante who was giving her a slight glare as if saying 'Don't you dare' to which Athena replied with a mischievous smile.

"No," the girls replied in unison.

"Well he can, so how about he makes you girls some homemade sweets. What was that drink you made a few days ago . . . coquito? It was really tasty!" said Athena. Dante was definitely giving her a good glare now.

"Oh! Can you make cookies!?" Ruby asked literally hopping in her seat.

"Some sweets do sound really good right now," added Yang.

"Agreed" said Weiss and Blake in unison. Athena looked back at Dante, a smile of triumph clear across her face. Dante held his glare a little longer before releasing a defeated sigh. No sooner had Dante sighed when Lucian appeared beside him team JNPR in toe.

"What's with you?" asked Lucian.

"Dante just agreed to make us some treats as a reward for today's training!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Yay! Can we get some too?" asked Nora joining Ruby in hopping up and down or her best efforts since she was still shaken up from sparring.

"I don't see why not," Lucian replied as he gave Dante a shit-eating grin. Dante returned his glare, this time directed at him.

"Fine but someone is coming with me to Vale. I need supplies and I am not carrying everything by myself."

"I'll go," said Ruby immediately replied.

"Ok then. Everyone go and get showered. Athena, you guide the girls to our dorm. Lucian, same . . . Ruby I'll meet you at the transport pads in 30 minutes, so head to your dorm and get changed quickly, I'll do the same and meet you there."

He then turned on his heel and started to walk away. Before he exited out into the hall Dante stopped and looked back "Oh, and Lucian . . . SHAME!" he shouted before disappearing. Athena looked at Lucian with her mouth open and she could swear she saw steam coming out of his ears, both sets.

"That mother . . ." Lucian trailed off as he stalked out of the building.

To shower or murder Dante, Athena wasn't too sure but decided it was best unknown. She then turned to the first years, all with expressions of confusion as to why that statement made Lucian storm off though it seemed Blake and Yang were getting a hint since their cheeks started to lightly blush. Before any of them could ask Athena waved it off as she started to head for her room to get a change of clothes.

Never a dull moment," she giggled to herself as she exited the arena hall.


	10. Of Monsters and Men

**Author's Note: Time for some real action and surprises. Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

**Shout out to yuvinile, happy birthday bro!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Dante's night did not go as he expected. He hopped it would be a simple training day and then a quiet night reading or maybe watching some TV with his team. Not going out grocery shopping to feed 8 first years some sweets. Sure he liked cooking but it was still annoying how Athena had cornered him into rewarding the teams, worst part being that he couldn't say no to Ruby when she pulled that hurt-puppy face. After agreeing and giving the groups their directions he raced to his dorm to get changed quickly. He actually ran into Crato in their dorm.

He looked freshly showered and was laid out on the sofa watching something on TV. Out of polite curiosity Dante asked how his previous night had been. A grin and wink was his answer so Dante could guess Lucian hadn't been the only one screwing around that night. He then got changed into some jeans and T-shirt before jogging off to meet Ruby at the transport pad. They both arrived at the same time, Ruby was dressed in casual attire as well. Black jeans with a red shirt and her ever-present hood.

Once in the city Dante headed straight for the market, Ruby in toe chatting up whenever she got the chance. Dante humored her and tried to maintain the conversation though it was tricky with Ruby constantly darting around to whatever seemed to catch her attention. It took them about an hour to gather the materials. Dante planned on making a variety of cookies from chocolate chip and strawberry to chocolate-peanut butter (his favorite) and coconut flavored cookies. It would have been faster but Dante had to pick up Ruby by the hood several times to stop her from diving into the fresh strawberries and then the cookies at the bakery section. Once finished with the supplies they headed back to Beacon to meet the others who were probably waiting in Dante's dorm.

As soon as they arrived Dante opened up to a surprising sight. In the dorm was Nora bouncing on the sofa while chatting with Ren and Athena. Lucian was standing in the kitchen speaking with Pyrrha and Weiss. Jaune, Yang, and Blake were sitting at the table with Crato playing poker, judging by the chips, and overall everyone seemed to be happily relaxing. Ruby rushed in past Dante into the kitchen scooting the current occupants out so that they could get cooking.

"Everyone out, cook at work!" he said as started to unload the supplies.

"Oh, oh! Dante, can I help?" Ruby asked while bouncing up and down.

"Sure," he said set up several bowls and ingredients.

Dante instructed Ruby on how to prepare the different batters while he began cutting up the different toppings he had planned, making sure to keep both Ruby and Nora away from the strawberries and assorted sweets.

Along with a massive pitcher of milk, the first batch set on the table were simple chocolate chip cookies which didn't last longer than a minute, mostly due to Ruby. Then Dante made the strawberry and coconut topped cookies. Lastly Dante prepared some red-velvet cookies along with the chocolate-peanut butter. He purposefully hid almost half a dozen of the chocolate-peanut butter so he could enjoy them later.

After he finished cooking and some cleaning everyone settled down to relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Dante joined in on the poker game but sadly Crato cleaned everyone out though no one had been forced to actually put in any lien simply using some game chips as the currency. When it got to around 7 pm the first years began to clear out and head back to their dorms. They thanked them for the treats and training, some promising they'll do better next time before finally heading out.

Once they were all gone team ASCZ hung around the sofa enjoying the silence after their long day. While they relaxed Dante received a message form Ozpin. It said 'Team ASCZ, meet in my office in 1 hour. There is a task that requires your skills. Prepare for night combat'. The team quickly got into their gear, Dante choosing to wear his black jacket rather than the silver one, Crato put on a black hoodie rather than his usual white, and Lucian put on a black suite.

Athena dressed in her usual since the colors were already suited to night-time operation. The team soon arrived in Ozpin's office prepared for instruction. Ozpin sat behind a large mahogany desk centered in a large dark green office. There was a large window that overlooked the academy and Vale off in the distance. Above them large gears rotated and clanked like the mechanisms of a giant clock. The walls on either side were covered in shelves of books, some covered in dust from dis-use.

After a moment Ozpin began to speak. "Team ASCZ, tonight you have been tasked with hunting down two specific targets. If you haven't noticed there were eight of you that took the initiation for 'Slayers'. During the testing, 2 of the 4 others failed sections of the test. Primarily failing to avoid detection and then failing to work as a team when facing off against the other pair. Due to this, they were denied being announced as a full team and instructed to take further testing."

"…"

"The pair followed the instruction for 2 days before they ran out of the academy. We sent the other pair to track them down and have just received confirmation on the location of the two rogues. Though normally I would simply instruct the trackers to capture or eliminate their targets, the situation has complicated a fair amount. The pair that went rogue have affiliated themselves with a gang that has ties to the underground, specifically mercenaries. Since the numbers are less than favorable I am sending your team in to assist in . . . tying loose ends."

Ozpin paused for a moment to allow for the information to sink in before continuing.

"Also, the rogues managed to obtain some files with rather delicate information regarding certain individuals. You are to retrieve the files and if that proves impossible, destroy them. As for the rogues, I leave it to your discretion whether they are captured or eliminated. You are to head into Vale immediately and meet up with the other 2 'Slayers' tracking the rogues, they will message you soon regarding their location. Their call ID's are Lucifer and Foxfire. Dante, you are to assume command over your team as well as the 2 others. Now, make sure to not be seen or recognized, you are dismissed."

The team turned to leave, prepared to complete their task to the letter, without a word.

* * *

Now Dante stood on a roof overlooking the streets of Vale, waiting for Lucifer and Foxfire to arrive. It had been roughly an hour since Ozpin set them out and he was starting to get impatient. He wanted to get going, especially since it was heavily raining now and most of the lower streets were clear of any civilians. Still they had to wait, Dante had gotten a message from 'Foxfire' saying to meet near the warehouse district, on the corner of Elm St. and Driver Ln.

Dante waited scanned around to see if anyone would approach them wondering which of the 4 other 'Slayers' he'd seen were their allies and which were the targets. Dante kept his gaze on an adjacent street until he spotted some movement near an alley way. Soon two figures appeared and started to make their way towards the corner just below them. Dante sent a message to 'Foxfire' telling them to go to the roof above them. One of them glanced up and made eye contact with Dante before signaling his partner to follow him up. They both made their ways up by going to the side of the building and using the adjacent walls to jump up to the roof.

Once they arrived, Dante finally got to get a good look at them. One was a large chested man, roughly 6 foot and had a large double-edged longsword slung behind his shoulder, the blade gleaming white with a black and yellow handle. He had on a black trench coat that ended just above his knees with white trimmings. It looked like under the coat he had black jeans and black field boots. The only other thing Dante could see was his face. He had a light complexion with platinum blonde hair, cut close at the sides with the top reaching a few inches combed forward. The only feature that took Dante by surprise was that his eyes were very light grey, almost white. He was almost about to ask if he was blind but noticed the eyes moving up and down before meeting his own eyes.

Dante then looked at his partner. He was about the same height with a skin tone similar to Dante's though he looked tanner. He had very fine features with jet black hair, shaved at the sides with the top spilling lightly over the edges, and the end forming into a tail that ended between his shoulders. He was dressed in a black leather jacket with the right sleeve missing, fully exposing his right arm. The jacket was opened up showing an orange shirt underneath and he had some regular dark blue jeans on. Slung on his back was what looked like a lacrosse stick but along the basket end there were blades running the length of the sides. Also the basket looked like it was made of woven steel fibers and an insignia was woven into the center. It looked like a dream catcher with four feathers along the bottom pointed down. As Dante inspected them Lucian approached from his side and started to address them.

"Lucifer and Foxfire I presume?"

"Yeah, I'm Foxfire" answered the one with the lacrosse stick. "This is my partner Lucifer". He gestured to the one with the longsword.

"We are team ASCZ" Dante said "I'm Silver, this is my team, Sapphire, Zeus, and Wave"

"And your actual names?" asked Lucifer.

"Not in the field. If you want to get friendlier you'll have to wait until we complete the task at hand." Replied Lucian.

"I agree. Now status report. I assume you were informed that I would take command, correct?" said Dante. Foxfire nodded before he started to speak.

"The rogues, formally known as Berserker and Shiva, have taken refuge in a three-story warehouse five blocks north of here. The warehouse is controlled by a gang known as Grimm Heart. They have several guards posted along the perimeter of the building. We can safely assume that the warehouse has at least fifty well-armed members along with the two rogues and a few other unknown individuals."

"Unknown?" asked Athena.

"Yes, a women dressed in a short red dress and what I think were White Fang grunts." Explained Lucifer.

"So then what are your orders Silver?" asked Crato.

Dante glanced at him before starting to think up a strategy. In all honesty he would have preferred going in hot and tearing apart any resistance but that would be loud and probably give the rogues a chance to escape. He also felt that there was something familiar about the unknown woman Foxfire had mentioned. He looked at the team assembled for a moment before he started explaining his plan.

* * *

Crato raced beside Athena and Lucifer as they made their way to the warehouse. Dante had instructed for the team to split into three's and take the warehouse from two different sides. Dante, Lucian, and Foxfire were going to close in from the rooftops and break through the rooftop of the warehouse as a surprise. Crato, Athena, and Lucifer would break in through the front to create a distraction and hopefully flush out their targets.

He glanced up to the rooftops across the street from them and noticed how the others jumped between the rooftops with little more than blurs of movement. With the darkness and rain obscuring most sight, Crato knew no one would be able to notice Dante or Lucian as they moved along the rooftops. It seemed that Foxfire was just as physically adept as them since he managed to keep up with them though he seemed more hesitant in his jumps.

Crato knew that Lucian's faunus eyesight let him clearly see around him even in the dark, but wondered how Dante could keep up and even outpace him in this haze. Crato was starting to get a suspicion that Dante might be a faunus as well but Lucian had avoided the subject when Crato tried to find out. He had been curious as to what they had talked about during their fight in the initiation but hadn't made any head way into getting Lucian to elaborate.

Now as he glanced at his movement Crato was becoming surer that Dante is a faunus as well but was bothered with one question. Why was he hiding it? It's not like he cared if someone was a human or not, as long as they could get the job done and put up a good fight, that's all that mattered to him. Hell, Dante had actually managed to make him nervous when he confronted him on injuring Athena and that was no easy feat. Crato decided that after this mission he was going to ask Dante straight up, no more hiding.

The warehouse soon appeared in view. The team ducked behind an alley way and made a quick survey of their surroundings. Just like Foxfire had reported, the perimeter was covered by armed guards every fifteen meters or so. It didn't look like there were any guards on the roof but one could never be too sure. Crato looked at Athena and Lucifer to see if they had any ideas.

"How do you guys want to create a distraction?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. If we create some noise we can definitely draw away a few of the guards but I doubt we can get the ones inside to come out without some really big commotion." replied Athena.

"True, but if we want to create a large amount of disorder I suggest we try to also cause as much damage as we can before they realize they are under attack." Lucifer added.

"I can sneak up on one of the guards and off him before he sounds an alarm. If you guys take out one or two as well we can get a good opportunity to attack the front directly." Suggested Athena.

"Ok, if you can do something to get the guards closer, I can take them out easily with these" said Crato as he drew out some throwing knives.

Lucifer and Athena nodded before each made their way to their respective target. Crato watched as Athena started to walk towards a guard holding her side as if she was in pain. The guard noticed her when she was about eight meters away and pointed his gun at her shouting for her to stop. She slowed a little but still got closer as she made herself look as defenseless as possible. The moment she was within five meters of him she bolted forward and jabbed something into his throat. The guard didn't even make a sound as he dropped forward beside her.

Crato then watched as another guard off to the left finally noticed his downed partner and started walking towards Athena, gun raised. Crato waited until he was at a good range before he began to funnel some of his aura into the knife in his hand. Small crackles of light blue electricity started to emit from the knife as Crato took aim. Then in a small flash, Crato threw the knife at the man's neck piercing it right at the Adam's apple.

The guard fell like a puppet with no strings, gun clattering to the side. Crato then drew his next knife and repeated the process with two more guards before leaving his hiding spot and approached Athena. He glanced to his right and saw Lucifer finishing off another guard by quickly decapitating him with the white longsword. Behind him were the bodies of three other guards, either cut in half or headless, with their blades at their sides. '_Well I doubt it would have made a difference if they had guns instead'_ Crato thought as he stopped beside Athena.

The two waited for Lucifer to arrive before making their plans for how to storm the warehouse since all the guards on this side had been dealt with and they couldn't be seen by the guards on the other sides due to the heavy rain.

"So, how do you guys want to announce ourselves?" asked Lucifer once he was standing beside them.

"Way ahead of you" said Athena as she fished out a red vial of dust from her pouch.

She uncorked the vial and some dust in her hand. Then she started to flare her aura around her hand, coating it in a dark blue hue. After a minute or so she stopped flaring her aura, in her hand a fist sized crystal with a glowing red core. She put away her dust and then looked at Crato.

"Do you still have any more throwing knives?" she asked.

"Sure, why?"

"If you funnel some of your aura into a knife and throw it at this crystal, it will explode. I'm going to throw the crystal at the main door and I need you to intercept it with a knife before it hits the ground. The explosion should be enough to blow the doors open along with anyone close to them."

Crato gave her a nod before turning to face the main doors 15 meters away and drew another knife. He began to funnel some aura as Athena chucked the crystal straight for the door in a high arc. Crato waited for the exact moment that the crystal touched the door before releasing his knife. He hit the crystal in the dead center, followed by a large explosion. Crato watched as the doors blew in with the sound of pained screams, probably from whoever just got flattened by the doors. Crato glanced at Lucifer and Athena, both had their weapons drawn before the three dashed forward prepared to kill whoever got in the way.

As some of the dust cleared more guards started to pour out of the blown doors. Crato rushed forward in front of Athena and Lucifer, both blades drawn and started to tear through the guards. He wielded both his blades masterfully as he cut down anyone who dared approach. He cut through one man's torso before turning to another and piercing him through the throat. As he pulled out the blade Crato noted the havoc around him.

Athena was engaging several of the gang members around her with her whip, keeping them at bay as the bladed end of the whip sliced through them with deadly precision. Lucifer was more or less in the same situation though it was far more one sided as he swung that massive blade through anyone close, cutting apart even their blades that they tried to block with. Crato managed to count roughly twenty already dead, five from the explosion.

'_Almost half way. This should be quick' _he though as he cut down two more men. He then decided to join his blades together to form his true weapon, Gungnir. With it in hand Crato formed a red wave of extinction around him, unmatched in skill or ferocity. The men attacking him began to hesitate, becoming aware of the terrifying difference in skill but it didn't matter, if they didn't come to him, Crato would simply go to them. As the got closer he heard a crash overhead.

He glanced up to see that Dante, Lucian, and Foxfire had turn through the concrete roof of the building. While Dante landed on a railing of the third level, Lucian and Foxfire descended into the fray. Crato quickly finished the three men that had been attacking him before turning around to see just how the battle had been going. Lucian was jumping from attacker to attacker killing them in a flash of strikes without losing a beat. Each gang member met their end with a strike to their throat or chest, Lucian's hands tearing into their bodies like tissue paper. Foxfire was also using his lacrosse stick like a staff, slicing through some with the bladed ends or stabbing them with the pointed end. '_This is almost too easy'_ Crato thought before obviously, something went wrong.

He heard the loud crack of a shotgun overhead followed by Athena's scream "DANTE!"

Crato looked up as time seemed to slow, watching as Dante careened backwards of the railings. Where he had been standing was a door with a hole blown thrown the middle, the shooter still on the other side. Crato watched as Dante fell from the third story, blood spraying out from his gut, as he crashed into a pile of crates below. Crato tore his eyes off Dante in time to see another figure, a woman with black hair and a twisted staff in hand, as she descended on the distracted Athena. Crato didn't even think as he flared his aura, ready to intercept the rogue . . .

* * *

Athena's mind was going blank. The attack on the warehouse had been going without a hitch until the shotgun went off. She looked up in time to see Dante falling, shot just below the ribcage, as he fell into some crates with a loud crash. She felt her blood start to run cold, thinking that Dante at best was just unconscious with his aura taking the brunt of the force from the shot and fall. She was too worried to even notice that someone was about to run her through from behind.

Then there was a flash of light and what sounded like a lightning crack from behind her, tearing her attention away from where Dante had landed, to see Crato. He was between her and the women that she had failed to notice, blocking her staff with his dual-bladed lance. The rogue seemed just as surprised as Athena, her black beady eyes widening as she jumped back to avoid any counter from Crato. Crato took that opportunity to get Athena back to her senses.

"Sapphire, snap out of it. Silver is fine, he's a tough bastard. Focus on the mission at hand and eliminate as many of these damn punks as you can, then we can check on Silver."

With that, Athena steeled herself, ready to continue fighting. She turned back to see some of the gangsters along with some White Fang grunts approaching her. She grit her teeth, annoyed with their interference and lounged forward to take them out. She milled through their ranks using both her whip and a crystal knife to take her opponents down, cutting open jugulars, lacerating torsos, all with a cold, emotionless face.

She could here Crato fighting against Shiva, caught glimpses of his bladed lance as it drew blood, pushing Shiva back. It wouldn't be long before Crato managed to inflict a crippling wound. As she finished the last of the group she noticed what looked like a fire going off to her left. She looked to see a women in red facing off against Lucian.

The women had black hair and glowing eyes, fire coating her arms as she lounged fireballs at Lucian. Athena had to almost do a double-take to register what she saw next. Lucian's arms seemed to be coated in water forming water claws around his arms. With each fireball, Lucian swiped one of his arms through the projectile snuffing it out. Since it seemed that Lucian was holding his own just fine Athena scanned the rest of her surroundings.

Crato was gaining ground on the rogue and Foxfire was making quick work of some more White Fang and Grimm Heart members while Lucifer seemed to disappear into the room from which the gun shot came. Athena could here some screaming coming from the room, apparently Lucifer was getting scary, before taking notice that a rather large White Fang member was approaching her. He stood at around six foot eight inches, bear ears coming out the top of his head. He lumbered over with a snarl across his face, holding a large axe in both hands.

Athena was wondering how to most effectively deal with the enormous faunus in front of her until she noticed some movement to the left of the him. Suddenly out of nowhere a fist slammed into the side of the faunus. Athena watched in what felt like slow motion as the fist smashed into the ribs of the faunus, visibly shattering through bone and muscle with a sickening crunch before the force of the impact caught up with the hit sending the body of the bear faunus flying into the nearby wall, a crater forming around him on impact.

Athena couldn't even process what she was now looking at but she could understand one sensation she had, fear. In front of her was Dante, but not the same Dante that she had seen break into the warehouse. His shirt was torn from the gunshot exposing his abdomen, covered in small bullet holes but no longer bleeding, his hair was matted down from the rain, and he was covered in blood but that wasn't what scared her.

Instead of normal fingers, Dante had claws and scaled armor covering his fingers, the claws being almost black with silver points. His face was pulled into a vicious snarl exposing his teeth, his incisors and k9's reaching an inch in length forming menacing fangs. But that wasn't the worst, no, the worst was his eyes. The whites of his eyes had become a dark crimson, almost black, while his irises had become silver with tendrils of red bordering the rims, as if the color of the outside was trying to cover his eye completely. Then in those silver eyes were two slits, one vertical and one horizontal, meeting at the center.

Athena looked at the terrifying sight only to be reminded of where she had seen those eyes before. His eyes were exactly like his mark, the one on the back of his silver jacket, the silver coin floating in the pool of blood surrounded by black wings.

As she stood there, transfixed by Dante's appearance, Dante then turned those eyes to focus on her. The look in his eyes was full of rage, the desire to kill. There was no concern for petty emotion, good or bad, right or wrong. It was the look of a predator judging the prey around it, deciding whose life was next, knowing it could end whoever it chose in a matter of moments and that predator was looking at Athena. He started to walk towards her, never breaking eye contact until he stood barely a few inches away, looking down at her.

"Focus on the mission. If you have questions, I'll answer them later." He said, his tone low and dangerous.

Then he dashed off, towards some more White Fang who had been foolish enough to approach them. Athena watched as Dante ripped them to shreds, screams of agony in his wake as their bodies were destroyed before they could even react. She watched as Dante's claws tore open their chests, slashed apart throats, and smashed skulls without hesitation. Athena was no stranger to bloodshed and gore but even she had to look away as Dante gripped the last White Fang by the skull and just like the Boaratusk in Port's class, crushed his skull, brain matter flying with one final blood curdling scream.

Athena looked around, trying to avoid the harrowing sit and noticed that the fighting all around had finished. Crato had Shiva held down by the throat, blood trickling from a large gash on the side of her head, her armed was twisted in an odd angle, her staff at her feet snapped in half. Foxfire had finished the last of the Grimm Heart members and Lucifer had reappeared dragging what looked like Berserker, multiple cuts along his shoulders and legs, he was missing an arm as well. Lastly Athena started to look around for Lucian but then heard a small explosion behind her. She turned around to see a large dust cloud envelop part of the warehouse obscuring sight. Then a few moments later Lucian appeared, walking out of the dust coughing lightly.

Once he was clear of the dust and standing beside her, she asked "What was that?"

"Damn bitch set off a small dust explosion to separate us. By the time I got around the blast she was already gone, escaping into the rain outside. I can't track her with the mix of dust and rain covering her scent so I came back over here" he replied with a noticeable tint of anger in his voice.

Athena looked away from him and turned back to Dante as he approached them while everyone else gathered together with their captured targets. Crato, Lucifer, and Foxfire eyed Dante, unsure of what to make of his new look though Lucian didn't really look all that surprised. After some moments of tense silence Dante spoke.

"Now that we got some quiet, what should we do with these two," he said gesturing to the rogues.

"It's up to you. We take them alive or kill them now." Answered Lucian.

"What about the files?" asked Dante.

"I got them." Replied Lucifer as he pulled out a small storage drive out of his coat.

Dante then looked at Shiva and Berserker before he spoke to them. "What was on the files?"

Neither of the rogues replied. Berserker started to chuckle through bloody teeth as Shiva spit some blood at Dante's feet. In response Dante picked up Shiva by her mangled arm, holding her at eye level with him. Then Dante let out a vicious snarl, barring his fangs for all to see while Shiva began to tremble, her eyes showing her inner panic.

"Answer my question. What. Did. The. Files. Contain?" he said.

"I am not going to tell you anything . . . **monster**!" she replied.

This only angered Dante more as he squeezed his grip on her arm, the sound of bone shattering followed by Shiva's scream. After her scream died down, Dante spoke again. "Start talking or its only going to get worse"

"I-I didn't . . . read m-much . . . into the fi-files. I only . . . got some n-names out of it . . ." she replied through pained breaths.

"Whose names?"

". . . White Reaper . . . Black Scythe . . . Red-Eye . . . Gold Fist . . . Then your call ID's. That was all I know, I swear." Shiva finished.

Dante looked at her, as if decided whether he would be satisfied or not before he tossed Shiva to Crato.

"We will take her back to command, let our superiors decide what to do from there." Dante explained. At that Berserker started to chuckle again.

"You are so soft . . . can't even move without orders from above. How pathetic" he said as he continued to laugh.

In an instant Dante whirled around, arm stretched out and lashed out at Berserker. Berserker didn't even seem to notice how his entire lower jaw and part of his throat was ripped out by Dante's claws, sending the mangled flesh falling onto the floor while blood squirted out of his now open throat. He let out a small gurgling sound as his eyes rolled back into his head, falling backwards with his legs twitching before finally stopping. Athena grimaced at the sight, fresh blood and bits of flesh dripping off Dante's hand.

"I never said anything about letting you live, bastard" Dante said to no one in particular. "Let's head out"

Dante then started to walk towards the blown doors, not waiting for anyone. When he had stepped into the rain Crato, Lucifer, and Foxfire started to head after him, Crato slinging Shiva over his shoulder. Athena glanced at Lucian beside her, and noticed that he was very focused in thought.

"What's up with you?" she asked.

"Nothing . . . it's just that . . . I thought his kind had died out some generations back" Lucian replied.

"His kind?"

"Faunus type"

Athena gave him a questioning look, unsure of what he meant. Lucian took notice of the look and started to walk forward while he uttered a single word that made Athena blood almost freeze. She didn't know if it was surprise or shock, probably both as shiver ran down her spine. She started to walk following Lucian, unsure of what to do with the new information.

Her thoughts reeled as she kept playing over what Lucian had said. " . . . Dragon . . ."


	11. The World of Faunus

**Author's Note: Let the truth come forth and reveal that which was hidden! To all my readers, enjoy! PS. The elements of this chapter are what really make this story an AU!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Dante was absolutely furious. As they made their way to Beacon, he stayed at the front of the group, not intent on speaking to anyone. He knew that he would have some explaining to do but for now just wanted to deliver Shiva. As they arrived and made their way to Ozpin's office, he didn't even bother retracting his claws or hiding his eyes. At this point he just didn't care, his team had already seen his true appearance and how he decimated his targets like a soulless beast.

'_It's not like they'll want to be around me anymore and they have every right to call me a monster . . . but the look in Athena's eyes . . . her fear, disgust . . . I think that hurt the most'_ he thought bitterly.

He had hoped to show them in time, try to get around the shadow that haunts his kind but now those chances were ruined, shattered because he let his temper escape him after getting shot, probably by Berserker judging by the guns he had seen before. '_That bastard actually used gray anti-aura dust rounds_' he thought as he unconsciously scratched his abdomen. The bullet holes had mostly healed by now, his regenerating flesh pushing out any bits of buck-shot embedded in the skin, leaving pale dots stained with dried blood.

They soon arrived back in Ozpin's office and filed up in front of him. Glynda was at his side as well as another man Dante didn't recognize. He was dressed in black pants, white button shirt rolled up at the sleeves with black latex gloves reaching up to the middle of his forearm. He had greasy black hair combed to the side and pale green eyes. As Dante looked him over Crato stepped forward and deposited Shiva. Ozpin looked over them stopping at Dante for a moment before beginning to speak.

"Well done 'Slayers'. It seems the hunt went without any _particular _incident. This man here" he said gesturing to the unknown man beside Glynda, ". . . his name is Mr. Grieves, is in charge of incarcerating and disposing of captured targets. From now on whenever you bring back a target for interrogation, detainment, and so forth, you shall directly give them over to Mr. Grieves. You can find him near the south border of the academy near the restricted zones of the Emerald Forest."

As Ozpin finished Mr. Grieves stepped forward and picked up Shiva before leaving the room. Once the door shut Glynda began to speak.

"Now that your task is complete the team is dismissed aside from Dante. The rest of you get cleaned up and rest. If there is any need for your individual reports you will be messaged."

With that the team began to head out. Dante waited until they were all gone before addressing Ozpin.

"What can I do for you Ozpin? Is there a concern with my appearance?" he asked in a cold tone.

He was too used to having to explain his natural look. Dante looked at Ozpin, trying to see if he could get a read on what he might be thinking but Ozpin's expression revealed nothing.

"Your appearance does come as a bit of surprise but I cannot say that I had no prior idea as to what you are. For now, give me a report on how the mission went." He replied.

"The mission was executed as ordered. Berserker was silenced while Shiva and the files were recovered. Almost all underground associates were terminated . . ."

"Almost?" Glynda cut in.

"A women in red managed to use a small dust explosion to escape engagement against Lucian. I only got a glance but I believe it was the same women you fought during the dust robbery." Dante elaborated.

"Hm . . . very well. We will address the issue with the mystery woman later on . . . Did they get any information from the files?" asked Ozpin.

"I am not sure if the women in red did but I managed to get Shiva to elaborate on any knowledge she might have read into. From what I can tell they only got some names out of it."

"Whose names?" asked Ozpin.

"White Reaper, Black Scythe, Red-Eye, Gold Fist, and the call ID's of my team."

Ozpin's expression changed for a moment, a hint of surprise and irritation, before his regular poker face returned.

"If I may sir . . . who are the owners of those names? If I go off the pattern concerning the names present along our call ID's I could assume that these people are other . . . Ghosts."

"That is above your clearance, Dante. For now, you may not mention those names under any circumstance." Ordered Ozpin.

After a few moments of silence he continued. "Now, concerning your nature I do have some concerns. Though I do not harbor any prejudice against faunus, I cannot help but have some reservations at the presence of a . . . dragon faunus. I am well aware of the history concerning your breed along with their known temperament and influence on other faunus types. . . What I want to know is, can I be assured of the safety of my students and personnel?"

". . . I know that my kind are known for bringing problems, but if you are willing to give me the chance, I would like to remain. If I ever cause harm to the students in an aggravated way you have the right to have me dismissed."

Ozpin seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment before he slowly nodded. "Very well, I have your word Silver. I will retain judgement for the time being. You are dismissed . . . I believe you have a team needing of some . . . explanation. Also you can expect to have Foxfire and Lucifer accompany more missions in the future until I properly form a team for them."

Dante turned around and walked out of the office. As he headed for his dorm he mentally tried to prepare himself for any argument, rejection, or outright hate he might receive from his team. He hopped Lucian at least would not place too much judgement considering he was a faunus as well, but then again most who became aware of what he was responded with fear and hate. As he arrived at his door he was having doubts.

Truth be told, he was scared. Even if it had only been about a week he already was starting to feel happy with his team. It was one of the first times he had started actually trying to make friends and the thought of it all ending scared him. He took a deep breath before finally opening the door and stepping in.

He saw that Athena was sitting quietly on the sofa looking out in the direction of the window, watching as the rain pelted the glass. Dante wasn't too sure about how to get her attention and instead decided to sneak into his room and take a quick shower at least. He made it in before he heard in Athena call in a small voice "Dante . . ." but he closed the door and quickly got into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

He looked at the mirror and grimaced. He looked like Hell! His hair was matted with blood and rain, his shirt had most of its front torn exposing his lower chest and abdomen, his pants and arms were covered in blood along with part of his cheek. His claws and eyes were still exposed so he focused for a moment as the claws receded and his eyes returned to the regular hazel. He pulled up his lips for a moment inspecting the fangs currently replacing his incisors before turning away from the mirror and taking off the blood coated clothing.

He then stepped into the shower and tried his best to wipe all the blood off. After he finished he stepped out of the shower to notice that he forgot his towel. He huffed in irritation before he flared his aura. After a few moments Dante stopped, steam rolling off his body, now completely dry. He then put on some shorts and a black hoodie. He for once didn't put on any wraps but made sure that the hoodie sleeves covered up to his fingers before stepping out of the bathroom. His room was still empty though now he could hear voices coming from the living room. He took a moment to steady himself then slowly walked out of the room.

Athena was still sitting on the sofa but now was joined by Lucian sitting at the other end. Crato was sitting on the coffee table in front of them and Lucifer and Foxfire had each pulled up a chair from the dinning table sitting at the side of the sofa. They all were showered and changed into more casual clothing, mostly shorts and t-shirts. They all looked at Dante as he approached, unsure of what to do or expect. He stood near the sofa looking down waiting for them to say something.

Crato was the first to break the silence "So Dante, just some introductions. This is Havasu" gesturing to Foxfire ". . . and Thantos" he said as he pointed to Lucifer. "They already know your name so don't worry about it" he said nonchalantly.

Dante just stared, not at all expecting Crato to act so casual. Lucian most have picked up on Dante's confusion and clear his throat to get attention on him.

"Alright Crato, enough games" he said before looking at Dante. "So Dante, anything you want to tell them?"

Dante took a breath before he started to speak ". . . if you haven't already guessed I'm a faunus." He stopped to look around before continuing "And not just any faunus . . . I'm a dragon faunus"

At that Crato let out a slow whistle while Havasu looked deep in thought. Dante looked at Athena to see how she was taking this but she kept her gaze at the floor. After a few minutes she spoke, still looking down. "Why?"

"Why what?" asked Dante, unsure of what she meant.

"Why did you hide it from us!" she nearly shouted as she got to her feet.

Dante stepped back, surprised by her sudden outburst. "I . . . I didn't want you to judge me for what I am . . . especially if you knew that I was a dragon I thou—" He was cut off as Athena slapped him across the cheek.

Dante hadn't even noticed that Athena had walked up to him as he spoke. His left cheek stung as he looked at Athena's outstretched hand. He was going to say something but Athena's next action caught him completely off guard. He almost stumbled back as Athena tackled him in a hug, burying her face in his chest.

"You idiot! Do you really think we would care what you are? You are our leader and my friend . . . you could have told me anytime." She said though it was muffled from the hoodie.

Dante felt a pain of pang in his chest, feeling ashamed to have hidden his true nature but also relieved that none of them seemed to be judging him for what he was, especially Athena. He slowly returned her hug before he started whispering "I'm sorry. I just . . . didn't want to be rejected again . . ."

Athena pulled back a little as she looked up at him, her eyes warm with care "I don't know what you've gone through before but . . . you got us now, ok?"

Dante nodded with a small smile before pulling her back into the hug which she returned in kind. That stood there for a while not really caring that their tender moment had an audience until Lucian cleared his throat again. The two broke out of the hug and sat back down on the sofa, both blushing lightly.

"Now that we got a little settled, Dante are you up for a little show and tell?" he asked.

"Maybe, they should know" replied Dante.

"Know what?" asked Crato, Thantos, and Athena in unison. Havasu stayed silent though his eyes showed he was just as curious.

"The truth behind the faunus" replied Lucian in a low voice.

". . ."

". . . W-What?" asked Havasu speaking for the first time.

Lucian sighed "You humans don't actually know much about the faunus or certain details about the Faunus War. What most humans refer to as the Faunus Revolution"

". . ."

Taking the silence as a cue to begin Dante decided to start. "During the Faunus Revolution, faunus fought against the humans trying to segregate them to Menagerie. What most humans don't know is that the faunus were already in their own 'civil war' of sorts."

"What do you mean?" asked Athena as she looked at him.

"Well, when a group is being discriminated against, while it's common for the members of that group to collectively resent their repressors, it is also common for members within the group to start blaming each other for their treatment, especially if certain members within the group can be distinguished apart. During years of oppression some faunus were starting to blame particular kinds to be the reason humans feared and hated them . . ." Dante explained as he slowly looked at the floor.

" . . . What kinds?" asked Crato in a surprisingly soft voice.

"Alphas . . ." answered Lucian.

The four humans turned to stare at him, shock on their faces. Lucian met their stares, unflinching.

"Most humans don't know but faunus have their own social construct, categories. Based on type, bloodline purity, or nature, faunus were placed in categories representing their power and influence. There are four categories . . . Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Omega." Lucian paused for them to process what he said.

"Each category was both a label and title. Omegas are at the bottom of the food chain, usually mutts or mixed breeds that had human blood, Strays. Because of their human ancestry they are looked down on as little more that humans with animal features, devoid of the power or pride of the animal within, their eyesight the only testament to still being faunus. In times of war, they were the last to eat, the first to be sent out into the field." Lucian said with a pang of sadness. He sighed before continuing.

"Next are the Gammas. They are the largest in number and most common types of faunus. They are mostly completely faunus but also mixed breeds. They are physically stronger than Omegas or humans and have better senses but still fall short of having true power. Most Gammas are herbivore actually though in current times more of the predatory faunus have interbred becoming Gamma as well. Gammas also have secondary features that can be hidden at will aside from the obvious ears, tails, or feathers. These features are usually combat oriented such as animal eyes, different teeth, and claws."

". . ."

"Then there are Betas. For all essential purposes you can think of them as nobles. They are significantly stronger then Gammas or Omegas, capable of matching even aura users without their own aura. They usually belong to very distinct bloodlines that can easily be distinguished just by appearance. Finer features, elegance, and an air of authority, very intimidating. They also number fewer than the Gammas though that doesn't mean they are exactly rare. It just means that don't usually interbreed with different faunus breeds much like you wouldn't breed a German Shepard with a Corgi, for example. The betas also can control their bodies to a better extent than the previous classes."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Thantos.

"Well, while Gammas usually only have ears or horns or tails as their primary feature, Betas usually have them all. A Beta dog faunus, for example, would have the tail, ears, and teeth of a dog. They wouldn't be secondary features that appear in states of agitation but they can hid these features if they so choose."

"How can they hide a tail?" asked Athena.

"I'm not exactly sure but they can retract horns, tails, and claws back into their bodies making them mostly look human. For some reason they can't hide ears though." Lucian explained as his ears twitched around.

"Then what about the alphas?" asked Havasu.

Lucian's expression darkened "The Alphas in all senses of the word . . . are monsters."

". . ."

"Alphas are the apex of the faunus world. To say they are strong is a gross understatement. One Alpha could outmatch an entire pack of Betas. If the Betas are thorough bred dogs, then the Alphas are wolves. They are bigger, stronger, and absolutely ferocious. The Alpha breeds look the same as the Betas but at the same time are significantly different in terms of ability."

"Such as?" asked Thantos.

"While Betas may have multiple animal features Alphas can . . . shift."

"Shift?" asked Athena.

"They can become more beast than human. Also they have other abilities and features exclusive to the Alphas. Shifting, advanced healing, unmatched physical ability, even extra senses and longer life spans, putting them in a league all their own."

". . . What kinds of faunus are Alpha?" asked Athena as she stole a glance at Dante, who was looking away towards the window.

"I don't know all the kinds but I know there are ten total. If you can guess, one of them is Dragon."

Dante felt all eyes on him but decided looking them in the eyes would be better than ignoring them. He turned around to look at them. Crato, Thantos, and Havasu didn't seem to be too phased by the new knowledge. Athena looked more curious but had a warmer tint to her gaze.

He sighed before speaking "Yeah, I'm an Alpha . . . One of the few dragons left in Vytal"

"What was one of the exclusive features Alphas have?" asked Havasu.

"The most obvious is our eyes" answered Dante.

The humans gave him questioning looks to which he sighed before staring straight at them. He focused on his eyes, much like someone might try to focus on reading something blurry or far away. He wasn't sure how but he could feel the color of his eyes change, the sensation almost like water spreading over the eyes. As his eyes changed to reveal their true form the others took in breaths. They stared as Dante slowly blinked taking in the sight.

For Dante the world looked different. Colors were more vibrant, edges and boundaries clearly defined. He could make out the smallest of details on their faces but the best part was their auras. Normally humans and faunus cannot see an aura unless the user flares it but Dante could see it envelop their frames. He could even tell the strength and nature of the aura based on how intense the glow and color was. To him it was like seeing the truth of a person, no mask, no restraint as the aura tells him who they are.

Athena was faintly glowing a dark hue of blue, finely edged at the ends, a sense of warmth and calm coming from her. Crato's was light blue and seemed to crackle like there was a current running through it, energetic and friendly. Thantos' aura was a pale white surrounding him as if a light was placed behind him, feeling at peace and open. Havasu's was radiating wildly, a strong orange color marking it, passionate and curious. Lucian's was a mix of grey with tints of black along the edges, flowing like water moving along his frame, almost giving of a sense of wisdom and tranquility.

Dante then looked down at his own arm and observed the silver aura radiated off his fingers, tints of red appearing occasionally before being swallowed by the silver. Normally he would always get a feel of anger whenever he looked at his own aura but this time it seemed softer, not burning but still hot. '_That's a little odd.' _He mused as he looked back at his fellow Ghosts.

He waited for a few minutes as the humans got used to his eyes before he began to speak again.

"I don't know much about the ten Alpha breeds but I do know that all of them have eyes similar to mine. The only ones I do know of are the King Cobras, Golden Eagles, and Red Lions."

"I can add another" said Lucian making everyone look at him.

Lucian took a breath before looking forward. They watched as the whites of his eyes became dark grey almost black and his irises began to glow blue with what seemed like an ocean churning behind them with a black center.

After a few moments Lucian spoke again "I'm an Alpha as well, a Grey Wolf . . ."

Dante chuckled "I'm so dense, how did I not guess that?"

Lucian smiled "Too caught up admiring yourself?"

"Ha-ha, very funny," Dante deadpanned.

They were going to continue the banter but then Athena clear her throat to get their attention. "I believe you were telling us about faunus history?" she said.

"Oh right, well I'll take over since Lucian covered a good bit" answered Dante. He took a moment to organize his thoughts and continue from where Lucian left off.

"Ok, so Lucian explained the categories and how they are distinguished so I'll go back to the part about the faunus infighting and assigning blame." He sighed.

"So, many faunus started to view the Alphas as the source of humanities fear and contempt. In a way they did have a point, the Alphas are more primal and tended to answer violence with violence. In the old times many Alphas became the stuff of legends, tales of horror, bloodshed, and power. Faunus also viewed them as forms of royalty, kings and queens with unquestionable power. Sadly because of this status the Alphas were soon feared and hated rather than admired. Many faunus, especially Gamma and Omega began to call out for the banishment of the Alphas. They thought that if the Alphas were not present, humanity may try to form ties of peace with the faunus rather then try to condense them all into Menagerie, probably to latter kill them all in one mass genocide." Dante nearly spit out the last word, voice filled with disgust.

"As fighting broke out between humans and faunus, some faunus groups tried to use war as an excuse for targeting Alphas under the disguise of human raids. Many failed, ending with the perpetrators ripped apart and put on display for all to see. Sadly, the Alphas numbered few to begin with and slowly numbers dwindled down. Then there was the Battle of Fort Castle." Dante let out a pained sigh before he continued.

"For the most of the revolution, Alphas stayed out of the fighting. They knew that on the battlefield they would do nothing but justify the fears of the humans. After all, once the smell of blood reaches an Alpha, bloodlust takes them turning them into Hell incarnate. So they sidelined themselves, acting as guards and protectors within the faunus territories . . . but then some faunus managed to convince them to take a more active role. A contingent of some 30 Alphas were asked to guard a fort until a faunus army could reinforce the location. What the Alphas didn't know is that some faunus traitors had 'let slip' intel of a faunus army already present in the fort to a General Lagoon."

". . ."

"Lagoon marched on the fort at night hopping to take the supposed faunus army by surprise. Sadly for him, he made two mistakes. He didn't know about the faunus' ability to see in the dark and worse, he wasn't attacking a standard group of faunus but Alphas, many of whom were their respective clan's leaders and powerhouses. In the end most of the human army was massacred and the general was captu—"

"Wait! Are you saying an army of nearly 5,000 troops were defeated by 30 faunus!? That's 1 to 150 each!" interjected Crato.

"You saw me in the warehouse . . . do you really think I would have a problem against 150 unsuspecting soldiers in the dark?" shot back Dante.

"Now imagine me but way older, stronger, more experienced, and with a thick hate for humans after watching faunus families be ripped apart due to the war. Of course the humans were obliterated though the Alphas actually lost 3 members themselves . . . my grandmother was one of them . . ."

". . ."

"After the battle, the Alphas realized that they weren't safe and couldn't trust other faunus. The ten Alpha clans left the faunus territories, disgusted with the war they had unknowingly won, and hide themselves around the kingdoms, fading away into myth and shadow." Dante finished.

"Wow . . . it hard to believe that so much went on in the Revolution . . . but why would the records about that battle say that it was a faunus army instead of just a small contingent?" asked Thantos.

"That's easy . . . just imagine the panic that would spread if humanity learned that there are faunus strong enough to wipe out armies?" replied Lucian.

"That would explain a lot about the initiation actually," added Athena.

"Hey, then what about the White Fang?" asked Havasu.

"What about them?" asked Dante, looking slightly irritated.

". . . Um, are there any Alphas with the White Fang?"

Dante looked at him before letting out a laugh, not one of mirth but bitterness.

After a few moments he stopped and looked Havasu dead in the eyes "If an Alpha got the chance, they would tear every White Fang member apart, former or current. It was their little group that wanted the Alphas gone and betrayed them at Fort Castle. Sure they wanted faunus equality and went by the boycotts and public displays after the war ended but before that they secretly gunned for the Alphas. Now look at them, still using underhanded tactics to get what they want screwing over the rest of the faunus."

"W-Would you?" asked Athena. Dante gave her a raised eyebrow. ". . . kill any White Fang member you found, whether they were former or current?"

Dante looked a little surprised by her question but responded "Probably not former members, depending on what they did but I wouldn't hesitate to end current members in an instant." Athena seemed to relax with his answer though she still looked worried.

"What about you Lucian?" asked Crato.

Lucian huffed a little. "I'm more or less the same"

Silence followed as everyone tried to fully process everything that had been revealed that night. Dante glanced at a clock on the wall noting the time '_3 am, I think that's late enough' _he thought before speaking up.

"All right, that's enough for now. Everyone should get to sleep. If you don't want to then it's an order as your leader, bed."

Thantos and Havasu chuckled as they got up and said their goodbyes before heading out. "Oh, just so you know, we are like three doors down if you guys want to chat or hang" said Havasu before closing the door.

Lucian stood up and waved goodnight before heading to his room followed by Crato. Dante remained sitting becoming strangely aware of his proximity to Athena on his right. He glanced at her wondering what to say but then she stood up. He watched as she went into the kitchen and rummage through the fridge before returning with a plate of cookies. They were the peanut-butter chocolate chunk he had saved for later '_Completely forgot about those'_. She set them down on the coffee table before looking at him.

"I thought you needed something sweet, you looked down after telling us about the faunus." She said.

Dante gave her a smile before picking up a cookie "Thank you"

As he munched on the sugary treat she fiddled with her fingers for a bit before speaking.

"Um Dante?"

"Yes"

"Is it ok if I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Can you lift your sleeve?"

He looked at her for a moment. He then slowly pulled back both sleeves exposing the armored knuckles, wrists, and forearms. She took one hand in hers and slowly ran her other hand over the silver scales.

"Does it hurt when your claws come out?" she asked still studying the scales.

"No"

"D-Do you have a . . . tail?"

"Yes"

"Can I see it?"

"No" Athena pouted at him but he didn't give in. She then looked down before mumbling under her breath "No fair . . ."

He found her little display cute but knew there was something bothering her. Since he could see her aura he could guess her mood quite easily and it looked shaky, obvious sign of worry.

"What do you really want to ask?"

". . ."

"Hey . . ." he reached under her chin and softly pointed her face at his. "Ask"

She looked a little unsure but slowly nodded. "Are you training as a Ghost to go after the White Fang?"

"No, why?"

"Because . . . when you said the bit about an Alpha hunting them down, you looked so angry and . . . pained. I've seen that look before, it always leads to pain, suffering, and loneliness. I don't want you to be like that, you are my partner . . . and friend" she said as she placed her hand on his.

Dante looked into her eyes, warmed by her concern. "Don't worry. I came here to move on from my past. It true that I still feel resentment and anger but that doesn't mean I'll let it control my life . . . but it's nice to see you care" he said as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He was glad to see here aura calm, again glowing with warmth.

"Now get to bed. I'm going to eat these and then head to bed too, ok?"

She nodded before giving him another hug which he returned. After a few moments they broke apart and Athena stood, walking to the door. She looked at him before entering "Goodnight" she said in a warm tone. Then she closed the door behind her leaving Dante alone.

He smiled to himself as he looked down at his cookies. No one saw as a single tear rolled of his cheek, the first in a long time. It wasn't sad though, he couldn't remember when the last time was but for now the tear was from happiness. . .


	12. Can I Trust You?

**Author's Note: Here we are at chapter 12. The results of that emotional night! How is the team taking the night's events, is Dante ok? Read and find out. This is my longest chapter yet at 7.7k words. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights reserved to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

She wasn't sure when she had finally fallen asleep but now an alarm woke her from slumber, the alarm forgotten due to the previous night's events. She groaned as she got up to turn it off, groggy from the little sleep she had managed. As she turned it off she looked at Dante's bed, still empty. She had tried to wait for him but he never came and after waiting around she most have passed out from exhaustion. She looked at the clock, it read 9 am. '_I probably didn't get more than three or so hours of sleep. I should just get back to bed . . . but I'm worried about Dante. He seemed so out of it when I left him alone' _

She thought back to the night before, how Dante had been so cold on the way back to Beacon, then stayed to speak with Ozpin. When he returned he avoided her and ran into the room. She had planned to follow but then Havasu and Thantos arrived at the door asking if they could come in and talk. Lucian and Crato soon joined, both already showered and changed. They spoke for a few minutes, made simple small talk and official introductions though she could tell there was a tension in the air.

Then Dante finally came out of the room, cleaned up and dressed for sleep. When he walked up to them, she couldn't help but look down. Truth be told she was scared of what she might see, the bloodthirsty snarl still on her mind from the warehouse. When Dante started to speak and explain what he was she felt her anger replace fear. She had tried getting closer to him the whole week and thought she had made some headway as partners, but to have such important things hidden from her, especially because he had assumed they would reject him for his heritage, was more than she was willing to deal with. She didn't even realize she had shouted at him and then slapped him, too driven by anger. Then she finally registered how Dante looked and her anger immediately subsided, because Dante looked scared and hurt. She had always seen him look focused or angry or teasing and mischievous but never scared.

When she focused on the redness on his cheek she felt that she needed to apologize but didn't know what to do so instinct took over and she hugged him. Even if she had been angry, she knew she hadn't let him fully explain and his expression made her feel even worse. He looked like he was waiting for more, ready to receive a punishment even if he hadn't actually done anything wrong. With her face in his chest she thought to herself about what to do. She didn't want to make him feel worse so she instead spoke honestly rather than try some cheap apology for hitting him.

When he replied to her words, she almost had to do a double take. Dante's voice was so soft and almost frail, she could feel the sadness behind his answer, his fear of rejection. She looked up at him and tried to muster the most care into her words, trying to let him know that she didn't care what he was. All that mattered to her was that he was her friend and partner. He had already saved her once and been strong whenever he needed to be, now it was her turn to help him. He needed someone he could trust and she knew he was scared to open up, but she promised herself then and there that she would be there for him, be someone he could feel safe around as his partner and friend.

Then he gave her that long hug and she couldn't help but want it to last. He felt so warm and strong yet his embrace was gentle and delicate, as if he was scared to apply too much force and hurt her. She felt his heart beat and noticed how it had started fast and almost erratic then started to slow down until it reached a steady, calm rhythm soothing her as well. Then Lucian's abrupt interruption shot them both out of there stupor finishing the embrace. When they took their seats afterward Athena had to stop herself from asking for another hug, already missing the warmth and comfort.

Then Lucian and Dante began to explain about faunus society and the truth behind parts of the Faunus Revolution. It was shocking to say the least. To become aware that humanity as a whole doesn't know the true power and ability of the Alpha faunus, being often seen as belonging to entire league of their own, beyond humans or their fellow faunus was terrifying, seeing Dante's true dragon eyes didn't help though this time they were simply intimidating but still focused and calm. She remembered the bits she saw of Dante and Lucian's fight back in the forest yet neither of them are old enough to match their elders. She shivered at the thought of ever meeting one of those elders, monsters capable of defeating army's singlehandedly.

She also felt even more sadness at learning about the betrayal leading to the exile of the Alphas. She wanted to comfort Dante but wasn't sure if it was the place or time. His anger at Havasu's question had been evident enough but she couldn't help but become even more worried about Dante's view on the White Fang. There was so much pain and sadness in his eyes when he said it.

After he sent everyone to bed, Athena used the privacy to try and comfort him with the cookies he stashed, hopping to bring up his mood. While he ate she mustered the courage she could and had asked about his faunus features before finally asking about why he really wanted to be trained as a Ghost. His answer did manage to calm her down but there was still a pang of worry in her chest. She knew for now she couldn't pursue the subject so she settle for another hug before heading to bed.

Now she walked out of their room wondering where he might be until she spotted him on the sofa. She noticed he had a pair of headphones on, listening to what she couldn't tell, and he seemed to be focused on something in front of him. She slowly walked up to him and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder to look at her, his dragon eyes still exposed, and gave her a small smile before he took his headphones off.

"Morning" he said.

"Morning" she replied as she walked around and sat beside him on the sofa. She looked at his hands and noticed that he had an iPod, a pencil and sketch pad on his lap. She studied the drawing, a sun setting into the horizon overlooking a small beach, some hills and trees off to the side. It was well drawn, the picture created in a rough sketch form with shades of grey and black to form shadows, ripples, and depth. Yet what caught her attention was the middle of the page. At the center of the drawing was written what looked like a poem of some kind. Dante caught her stared and spoke up.

"It's a poem someone important to me gave me."

"Who?"

". . . My mother" he replied looking a little nervous.

"Your mother?"

He nodded, then looked at the poem as he explained. "I had many . . . rough experiences in my past and at times I was ready to give up. To let my anger, my frustrations . . . my fears control me. Last time I saw my mother, she taught me this poem and told me that whenever I felt like I couldn't go on, like the pressure was too much, to recite this poem to myself . . ."

Athena looked back and forth between him and the poem, curious to know just what had he experienced but even more so to know about his mother . . . or father for that matter. She rested her hand on his arm to get his attention. As he looked at her she asked "Can you read it out loud?"

He looked into her eyes for a moment before slowly nodding and clearing his throat.

"Out of the night that covers me,"

"Black as the pit from pole to pole,"

"I thank whatever gods may be"

"For my unconquerable soul."

"In the fell clutch of circumstance"

"I have not winced nor cried aloud"

"Under the bludgeoning's of chance"

"My head is bloody, but unbowed."

"Beyond this place of wrath and tears"

"Looms but the horror of the shade,"

"And yet the menace of the years"

"Finds and shall find me unafraid."

"It matters not how strait the gate,"

"How charged with punishments of the scroll,"

"**I am the master of my fate,**"

"**I am the captain of my soul.**"

As Dante finished, Athena could hear his voice crack at the last words, his gaze sad. She didn't know if he would want it but she slowly reached over and pulled him into a hug. He flinched at first but didn't resist and leaned into it, his head resting on her shoulder. His breathing was slow and she could feel his body radiate warmth, a sensation she was starting to take comfort in and look for. She looked down at his iPod noticing for the first time what he had been listening to. It showed 'Sail' on endless loop.

After a few minutes of silence she spoke up. "What's the name of that poem?"

"Invictus"

"Invictus?"

"It means unconquered in Latin. . ."

"Who wrote it?"

"It was a human from a very long time ago . . . his initials were W. E. H."

"Doesn't sound familiar at all . . ."

"Makes sense, humans don't know a lot about the past . . . sadly many things were forgotten"

They fell into silence again and after a few minutes Dante pulled out of the hug much to Athena's disappointment. He then looked back at his sketch pad and started to close it. As Athena watched she felt her curiosity get the better of her.

"W-What's your mother like?" she asked softly.

Dante gave her a small smile. "She is very kind. Always polite, generous, compassionate yet strong and firm. She doesn't even think twice about helping others and always know what to do to make anyone feel better." His smile grew. "And you can't mistake her for a softy either. No, she is one tough cookie. I bet she could wipe the floor with any one of us." He chuckled.

"Well isn't that kind of obvious, being an Alpha and all"

"She isn't"

"What?" asked Athena.

"My mother isn't an Alpha breed, she is a Beta."

" . . . I thought the different categories don't interbreed"

"For regular faunus, interbreeding can result in the offspring becoming weaker depending on the bloodline or purity of the parents so they don't usually interbreed between different classes but the rules are a little different for Alphas."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, bloodline aside, if you were to put two different kinds of faunus together such as a dog and cat, the offspring could be either one. On a rare occasion the child might even be a hybrid but usually result as still born or sterile. Many offspring will still be classed into the same category as the parents since Betas take a few generations to get watered down into the Gamma class. Mind you the rules about the difference in strength and ability only applies to non-aura users. Once aura is unlocked an Omega with aura can probably match a Beta that doesn't use aura if they train enough. Now Alphas on the other hand have a different biology then the three other classes. While most faunus pairings can expect the child to be either like the mother or father if they are different types, in the case of Alphas, the child will always be an Alpha breed."

"How can that be? Wouldn't the mix cause the genes to get watered down?"

"I'm getting there. It thanks to the Alpha's DNA. While the genes of offspring are split between mother and father, the genes of an Alpha can in a sense override the genes of a 'lesser breed'. This also means that to water down an Alpha bloodline you would need to have them breed with humans repeatedly for several generations to even bring them down to the Beta level. I think I once heard an old story of an Alpha who fell in love with a human. Their child was also an Alpha but was unstable."

"Why was the child unstable?"

"The mental process of a human and a faunus is different. We have a duality that allows us to think like a human or like the animal we take our heritage from. It's also why most faunus have personality traits reminiscent of the animal they look like. The mind of that half-breed couldn't differentiate the animal from the human, instinct from logic, and so ended up getting itself killed by rampaging across some old village and getting downed by a hunter. The child's human mother went mad with grief and the Alpha father exiled himself in shame. That's how the story goes anyway, I really think that it was just made up to stop Alphas from 'dirtying' their bloodlines."

"O-Ok, so then when they breed with other faunus types?"

"Well, aside from their own kind, Alphas can't breed with other Alpha breeds. The genes are to competitive and the females body always ends up rejecting the fertilized egg within a week. So to avoid inbreeding, Alpha clans tended to look for strong faunus bloodlines in the Beta category to bring into the family. This process was used every other generation or so allowing for the Alpha numbers to stay steady with an added bonus."

"What bonus?"

"Though Alpha genes are superior and guaranteed an Alpha offspring, the genes also assimilated traits from the new faunus blood. This meant that the Alpha child would have characteristics of both parents thus becoming hybrids. These hybrids usually became stronger than the generation before them and added to the majesty that followed the Alphas. For example . . ." Dante showed Athena his exposed forearm, the silver scales reflection some stray sunlight.

"My dragon scales are silver but the trimmings along the ends are scarlet. The same applies to my eyes which are also silver but the edges of my irises are scarlet too. Dragons are known for having metallic coloration such as Gold, Silver, Copper, Brass, and Bronze but thanks to my mother's genes I also have red. Her genes allowed for my body to express multiple colors since she herself has variations in color like red, blue, white, and green. So I resulted in Silver with mixes of red both on my body and aura."

"Ok, but that doesn't necessarily make you stronger . . ."

"Because you haven't let me get there" Dante replied in mock annoyance.

"My mother is a Quetzal faunus"

"What?" asked Athena.

"A Quetzal, an avian animal known for its lustrous coloration and regal feathers. Now, since my mother is avian, I have some of her traits. Even for a dragon, my eyesight is sharper, I have an innate sense of direction, I am comfortable in trees just as much as being on the ground to the point I use to prefer taking naps in trees like a bird rather than be on the ground, and I have w—" Dante stopped himself abruptly snapping his mouth shut.

"What? What were you going to say?" inquired Athena. Dante shook his head, adamant on not answering.

"Danteee!" she whined trying to get him to answer.

"Nope"

That was it, she wanted an answer and by dust she was going to get it. She tackled Dante down before he could react. She managed to grab both his arms and pinned them above his head. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow before smirking and looking away like a kid ignoring a scalding. '_Oh he is asking for it!' _she mused as she forced his arms to meet at the wrists.

"Dante tell me! Tell me! Tell me . . ." she kept repeating in an annoying fashion to distract him from what she was doing to his wrists. She focused her aura into her hands forming crystal handcuffs around them. When they were complete she closed them other his wrists and sealed the openings leaving his hands tied up. Dante flicked his gaze above his head, just now noticing what Athena had done. He looked back at her incredulously. '_Didn't know I could form cuffs with my crystals huh. Serves you right!' _

She gave him a mischievous smile before asking in her most innocent tone "Are you ticklish?"

"Nope" he said, returning to his smirk.

"We'll see about that . . ." she said as she used one hand to drag a zipper from the top of his hoodie down to his waist, leaving his entire chest and abdomen exposed. She then started tracing her fingers along his oblique's looking for any reaction. He didn't even shiver but she wasn't going to give up. She moved her hand to the center of his chest, just below the sternum, and traced her fingers along again looking for any reaction. Still nothing so she started to trail her hand down to about his belly button. At that Dante's smirk disappeared but his gaze was still taunting.

Athena stared back into his eyes and slowly started to see them in a new light. She didn't feel fear anymore though the eyes were still intimidating, especially with the crossed slits, but they were also somehow more sincere. They looked strong and direct, Athena almost felt like those silver coins in their pools of blood were looking not just at her, but inside her. It made her feel exposed yet not defenseless, just that she couldn't lie to them, hide from them, that nothing could.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that she had slowly lowered herself and now had her face just barely a few inches from Dante's. They stayed still for what felt like hours until the door leading to the hall suddenly opened.

"Ok, I think Dante was u—" Lucian stopped as he noticed the two on the couch.

Athena looked at him and then noticed there were four heads peaking in through the door. It was team RWBY and all four girls already had a mad blush forming. Athena quickly looked back at Dante and noticed his eyes had reverted to regular hazel. He shot a glance up to his arms and whispered "Sleeves". Athena noticed his scales were exposed but the girls couldn't see it past her shoulder so she quickly dragged up both sleeves up to his cuffed wrists, covering the scales. Athena then heard Lucian clear his throat making her look at him, the girls still eyeing the whole scene, all redder than Ruby's hood.

Lucian glanced down and back up at Athena until she realized what he meant. She looked down and noticed just how compromising her position was. She still had one hand on Dante's abs while sitting on him, straddling his hips. She felt her face start to heat up as she jumped off him, leaving him still lying flat with his wrists cuffed above his head. She stepped to the side of the sofa, unsure of whether to run into her room or say something.

She looked at Lucian who had on a shit-eating grin and glared at him for a moment before looking at the still red girls, noticing that all four had their gazes focused on the sofa. She looked back at the sofa to see that Dante hadn't moved at all, his tanned chest and abs fully exposed. Athena cleared her throat loudly to give him the message to get up already while giving him a death stare. He shrugged nonchalantly before pulling his wrists apart as if the crystal cuffs were tissue paper. He then stood up, still not zipping up his hoodie and gave the girls a smile.

"Hey" he said. '_Hey? Hey!? That's the best you got after being found in cuffs on a sofa!? At least have some humility and cover up!' _she fumed but she couldn't help and not look at his exposed body too.

"So what's up?" he asked Lucian.

" . . . Well, I went for a morning run and then ran into team RWBY on my way back. They asked if they could speak with you so I lead them back here since I knew you were awake. I just didn't know you would be . . . busy." Replied Lucian.

Dante smirked at that while Athena felt her blush returning with a vengeance. "Bonding between partners. Now, what did you girls need?"

"W-We were hoping to g-get some time with our m-mentors today instead of training" Ruby managed to reply. Athena looked over at the others and swore she say a drop of blood coming out of Blake's nose. Weiss was staring at the ground and Yang had a glazed look in her eyes.

It seemed that Dante picked up on how the girls were reacting and decided to act on it. He stretched out his arms behind his back with a loud sigh as his abs ripped under the skin. All four girls, having looked at him when he sighed, became an even darker shade of red. Athena wasn't sure why but it annoyed her how the girls were looking at Dante so she stepped in front of him and tied up his zipper before he could protest.

"Oh, no fun" he whispered to her before giving her a quick wink. She smacked him on the shoulder before turning to look at the girls again. It looked like covering Dante up had worked and the girls were starting to look normal again.

"Hm . . . I think hanging out sounds like fun. What do you think Athena?" asked Dante.

Athena thought for a moment. They didn't really have any plans and there shouldn't be any missions any time soon. She gave him a nod and then looked back at the girls, all of whom had fully walked into the dorm, now standing beside the table. They looked like they had fully recovered though Blake seemed to be eyeing Dante more than the rest.

"What about you Lucian, what's the plan for you and Crato?" she asked.

"I'm actually waiting on team JNPR here. They also wanted to hang out and Crato wanted to see some of their skills as a team. Not a sparring match like yesterday, just observe a little."

As he finished a knock was heard at the door. "That would be them." he said as he walked to the door and opened up.

"High everyone!" shouted Nora as she ran into the room followed by Ren, Pyrrha, and Jaune. As everyone shared their greetings the door to Lucian and Crato's room opened up and a shirtless Crato emerged.

"What's up!" he said in his usual loud manner. At the sight of the well-muscled blonde, all six girls started to blush and surprisingly Jaune was gawking at the sight as well.

"You finally up huh?" said Lucian without missing a beat.

"Hey I would've come out sooner if the common room hadn't been occupied" replied Crato while he pointed at Dante and Athena.

"W-What do you mean?" asked Pyrrha who was having trouble keeping her eyes off Crato.

"We caught Athena on top of Dante a few minutes ago" answered Lucian, a smug look on his face.

Everyone turned to stare at the pair, the six girls still blushing. Athena tried not to look at her feet so she then looked at Dante. He was smirking back, unaffected by the stares.

"I don't remember seeing your door open, Crato. What did you see?" he asked innocently.

"No duh you wouldn't see me. You were too focused on Athena running her hand from your chest to your waistline." With that Lucian started to chuckle while the girls got even redder. Athena couldn't blame them, she felt her face light up too.

"Is that jealousy I hear?" replied Dante without missing a beat.

"Oh please! Like you could match this . . ." said Crato as he flexed his muscular arms.

"Is that a challenge?" asked Dante with a dangerous glint in his eyes. His eyes met Athena's for a moment and she instantly got a feeling of dread.

"D-Dante . . . behave"

Too late, Dante in one smooth motion unzipped his hoodie again, exposing his chest and abs again. Part of Athena wanted to smack him and cover him up again but another bit wanted to run her hands down his flat stomach again. She tried her best to suppress any more urges while Dante and Crato bantered back and forth.

"Just look at this tan, blondie. You can't match" said Dante

"Oh I see how it is. Now look at these arms _boy_, these puppies are proud testaments to years of careful training."

"Yeah, puffed up balloons. Stop going to the gym for a few days and watch them deflate. Now these . . ." he said as he pointed to his abs "are built like steel and won't stop looking good even if I don't work out for a while."

"Bitch please! Mine are way better. Smoother, well chiseled eight-pack baby!"

"I don't know . . . Athena did say she's seen better, now you know on who"

"I've had more chicks feel me up than you"

"Yeah, but I probably got the better quality one's going after me"

"Want to put your lien where your mouth is?"

"Now you are talking. We got seven judges right here, more if Lucian, Jaune, or Ren want to have any input"

"Fine, if I win, you pick up the tab next time we head out to a bar and you have to go with us."

"If I win, you do my class work for the week"

"Done" They shook hands and then turned to look at their audience. Lucian had an amused look while Jaune and Ren shuffled around nervously. The girls just staring at them.

"Athena, you first. Me or Crato?" asked Dante.

Athena tried to control her blush as she looked between Dante and Crato. She obviously wanted to say Dante but didn't want to get caught in worse trouble after already being caught on top of him. Before she could say anything Crato spoke up.

"Wait a minute, she got to feel you up. I think she should get a feel for mine too, just to make it fair."

"If she does that, then the others have to be allowed to feel up as well" answered Dante.

"I don't have a problem, do you?"

"Nah"

Then both looked back at Athena, her mouth open, shocked with just how shameless these two could be. She didn't really want to touch Crato though, so she took the easy way out.

"Dante" she said trying to reign in her blush.

"1-0" Lucian said. "Next"

"Ruby, your turn" said Dante.

The redhead looked up as if a deer caught in a headlight. She glanced between them before squeaking her answer "Dante" and then looked back down at her feet.

"2-0"

"Yang"

Yang walked up to them, a glint in her eyes. Then out of nowhere she threw a right cross into Dante's gut. Dante didn't budge from the hit, just smirked. Yang looked him up and down then turned to Crato and repeated the process. Crato didn't budge either. Yang backed up looking between them before finally answering. "Crato"

"2-1"

"Nora" said Crato.

Nora looked between them before she walked up to each and started to squeeze their shoulders. Seeming satisfied she answered "Crato, gotta love broad shoulders" she said with a shrug.

"2-2"

"Pyrrha"

The Spartan turned an even darker shade of red the moment her name was called. She looked between the 'Slayers' before she stuttered an answer "C-Crato" before looking at her feet much like Ruby.

"2-3"

"Blake"

Blake seemed to get surprised by her name being called and just noticed that she had a small nosebleed. Hurriedly wiping the blood away she answered fairly quickly "D-Dante".

"3-3"

"Weiss, you're the tie breaker. Choose carefully" said Lucian, obviously enjoying the girl's reactions.

Weiss looked slowly between Dante and Crato before she nervously cleared her throat to speak. "I-I don't think I can decide . . . visually alone".

"Didn't expect that from you, Weiss" said Ren. Jaune beside him looked crestfallen and some of the girls were eyeing Weiss.

"Go wild" said Dante, a big smile across his face. Weiss gulped as she slowly walked forward.

"Me first" said Crato as he flexed his arms in front of his chest. Weiss reached out one trembling hand and placed it on Crato's bicep. Crato shivered a little at the contact. "Chilly hands there huh" he commented. Weiss quickly removed her hand and turned to Dante. She held up her hand but stopped about just before touching his abs.

Dante gave her a knowing smile before speaking "If you are cold Weiss, just let me know. I got a trick or two for heating people up" he said as he stepped closer, making contact between his skin and her hand. Weiss gasped at the sudden contact but didn't remove her hand. Athena watched with a slight pang of envy as Weiss's hand began to slowly lower, tracing along the divides between Dante's muscles. Her hand stopped just above his belly button before she answered "Dante".

"4-3, Dante wins." Said Lucian as he tried to control his laugh while Weiss stepped back. Crato groaned in defeat while Dante gave him a smug grin. While he did that Athena noticed for the first time that his teeth were still pointed though instead of being a full inch they were about half an inch long. She wondered what it felt like whenever the teeth grow and mentally noted to ask Dante when they are alone.

"Ok, now that its settle, you guys give me a moment to get changed and we can get some breakfast before heading out into Vale or something." Said Dante. Athena followed close behind as they went into their room to get changed out of their sleep wear. She closed the door as Dante walked over to his bed and pulled out a small box out from under it. He then placed his sketchpad and pencil away in it before replacing the box under the bed. She watched as he fully removed his hoodie, finally getting a full view of his back and the scales almost reaching his elbows.

She unknowingly started to look for a tail, unsure of how a tail would retract into the body. She noticed that just above his waistline the skin at the center was a shade lighter than the rest of the skin almost like a scar.

". . . Dante . . ."

"Hm" he said as he turned around to look at her.

"Can . . . can I please see _it_?"

He gave her a confused look but she was sure he knew exactly what she meant. His expression suddenly went dark, his eyes carefully studying her. After a moment Dante took a deep breath while closing his eyes.

Athena watched, unsure if she had overstepped and upset him until she heard a sound. It sounded like skin was tearing and a few pops sounded in interval much like when someone cracks their knuckle. After twenty seconds the sounds stopped but Dante stood absolutely still. He then slowly opened his eyes, no longer human but dragon, and looked into her eyes. Then he glanced down at his own hip. She followed his gaze and then noticed movement beside his leg. She gasped as she realized it was his tail. It was fully covered in silver plated armor that finished in a point, the last four inches shaped somewhat like a feather. The edges and trims of the plated scales were all scarlet like his forearms and eyes.

Dante half turned so Athena could see his back and she noted that the base of the tail started right at his waistline, the very bottom of it pushing his pants down an inch, right where the light skin patch had been. His tail was about three feet long maybe a little more, swinging back and forth somewhat like a dog's. She slowly stepped forward and his tail stopped moving, his eyes watching her carefully. She stopped when she was a foot away and asked with her eyes '_Can I touch it?'_ He sighed softly before his tail reared up and curved around his side, hanging directly in front of his chest. He nodded his head and Athena slowly raised her hand and placed it softly on the end.

It felt almost like metal, as if his tail really was made of silver, but it radiated a comforting heat just like the heat she felt when she hugged him.

"It's really cool" she said. Honestly pretty was more along the lines she was thinking but she didn't know how Dante would respond to that. She let go and took a step back to get a full view of what Dante naturally looked like. He stood tall and proud, his physique was well built, just looking at him she could feel the strength and majesty of the dragon, a testament to their right to be Alphas, his eyes seeing all for what they were. '_Why would you hide yourself? You look so strong, so proud, you radiate power. Why Dante? I want to see you like this every day not just here behind closed doors.' _

After a few more minutes Dante sighed again before his tail disappeared behind him. The sound of popping and skin tearing resuming again for another twenty seconds or so. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, hazel rather than silver and red.

"H-How is it you can hide a three foot tail inside your body?" she asked softly.

"Well, just think of it as really dense bone and muscle focused around the tail bone area of your body. The muscle surrounding those bones can be controlled like any regular muscle and when I want it to, the muscle pumps out with the bones until it forms the tail. Since Alphas can learn to control bone growth consciously, it just takes practice to fully control the tail or other characteristics such as horns, claws, fangs, and other extra appendages." Dante explained.

"Oh"

Athena then picked out her change of clothes and headed into the bathroom to get changed quickly. She changed into some blue skinny jeans and black blouse and sneakers since it was a casual outing. She stepped out of the bathroom and saw that Dante was changed as well. He had some regular fit jeans along with a simple orange t-shirt that said 'Punish Me' along the front, his silver wraps in their usual place along his knuckles and forearms.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes" he replied with a toothy grin. Now every time he smiled Athena couldn't help but notice his pointed teeth. She gave a defeated sigh, knowing full well that nothing she said would get him to change that shirt. They walked out of the room and saw that most of the first years were sitting on the sofa or chaired pulled away from the table. Lucian and Crato were probably in their room changing. She walked around the side to look at team RWBY but they didn't meet her gaze, instead all looking down, blushing.

"What's with you guys?" she asked.

Ren coughed to get her attention before explaining.

"After some egging on from Crato, some of them went over to your door to hear what you were doing" he said with nervous glances at Dante standing behind the sofa.

Athena felt both her anger and worry shoot up '_Wait, they were listening to us!? What if they heard . . . oh no, Dante!' _She looked at Dante, but he seemed to be calm. She then looked at the girls on the sofa.

"What did you hear?" she asked in a demanding tone as she crossed her arms. The girls nervously shuffled, aware of Athena's glare. Weiss slowly raised her head to look at Athena.

"W-We didn't listen l-long. We only heard y-you call Dante's name and then . . ."

"Then what?" she asked, her tone getting cold.

Weiss shrunk back but replied nonetheless. "Then we heard w-when you asked . . . to see i-i-it!" she squeaked.

Athena's mind went blank. Then Dante burst out laughing scaring everyone close to him, Blake's hair standing on end and Ruby landing five feet away near the dining table. Weiss looked like she was ready to pass out and Yang looked confused out of her mind while team JNPR stared in equal confusion.

Finally Athena's mind rebooted and she realized just how much of a misunderstanding this was. She took a deep breath, trying to not focus on Dante's ridiculous laughter as he literally rolled on the ground.

"G-Girls, nothing happened in there. I just asked to see . . . one of Dante's drawings." She said trying for some damage control.

The girls gave her incredulous looks but she didn't falter. After some time Dante finally picked himself up, still chuckling before walking to the side of the sofa.

"Oh come on girls. If that had been what had happened I would have asked to have been tied up again, after all, read the shirt" he said before proudly pushing his chest out for the words to be clear. As some of the girls blushed again Dante turned around and headed for the door, still laughing.

"Come on, I'm starved! I know a good spot in Vale and I'm treating" he shouted as he walked out the door.

Athena marched after him, hoping to smack him in the head before the other girls snapped out of it and followed them. All the while they left a bewildered team JNPR alone to their mentor's whims.

* * *

The short flight on the transport was fairly calm. There weren't many people up at this hour so it was mostly empty aside from Athena, Dante, and team RWBY. Athena sat beside Dante while Ruby chatted with him from her seat in front of them. Athena herself spoke a little to Weiss and Blake with the occasional interruption from Yang.

Once they landed Dante lead them to a small café near a small park. They quickly found a table and soon ordered their meals. Dante ordered six chocolate-chip pancakes, hash browns, double helpings of bacon, eggs, and an extra hot coffee with cream. '_Just how much can the guy eat!?' _ Athena pondered before ordering herself. She got an order of waffles with fruits, small coffee, and a side of bacon. Ruby ordered strawberry pancakes and milk, Blake ordered an omelet with fish in it, Yang ordered a breakfast sandwich with a virgin strawberry sunrise, and Weiss ordered sunny side up eggs with sausage, coffee, and biscuit.

As they waited for their food they started chatting together.

"So, what are you girls looking to do after breakfast?" asked Dante.

"Honestly, we planned for you an Athena to decide what we did today" answered Weiss.

"What do you think then?" Dante asked Athena.

"How about we just relax and walk around Vale for a bit. I'm not really that familiar with the area so we could explore" she replied.

"Oh-oh, how about we visit the local shops? There are really interesting stores around here." Said Ruby.

"I need a replacement shirt now that I think about it" said Dante.

"What for?" asked Yang.

"It got damaged in a small exercise" answered Dante. '_You mean it got a hole blown through it when Berserker shot you' _Athena thought as she watched the conversation. She was about to suggest going to the Vale mall might make it easier than walking between multiple stores but just then their food arrived.

They politely waited for the server to finish placing all the dishes down before they started to dig in. Dante and Ruby tore into their pancakes as if they were going to sprout legs and run away while Weiss ate painfully slow, avoiding even the slightest spill or stain. Blake was a little more enthusiastic with her omelet though she wasn't like Dante or Ruby, thankfully. Yang was entertained watching Dante and Ruby clean off the pancakes while she took bites of her sandwich. Athena herself ate at a leisurely pace, giggling at Dante's antics. '_He looks so different when he's being silly rather than serious. It's hard to believe he looked so sad before, now he looks genuinely happy' _she thought as she smiled at him. He seemed to notice her look and briefly locked eyes with her and gave her a small smile before returning to his hash browns, the pancakes already gone.

They soon finished their meals, Weiss being the last to finish due to being too careful about being sloppy. Dante covered the entire meal, much to Weiss's disappointment as she attempted at splitting it with her but he remained firm on him paying alone as the mentor in charge of the outing.

They left soon after and started walking around some stores to see if anything caught their interest. Athena and Yang kept laughing every time something caught Ruby's attention. She would try to rush to whatever it may have been but Dante caught her by the hood every time before she could get out of reach. At one point Dante just grabbed the back of her corset and picked her off the ground so her feet couldn't reach. Athena internally cooed at how adorable Ruby looked when she made a puppy face at Dante, begging for him to let go. He never lasted longer than five seconds so it was a constant cycle of catching her and releasing her again.

Even Weiss and Blake giggle at the silly antics of their leader and mentor, and it seemed that everyone was having fun together. Then soon reached a large park and Ruby immediately asked if they could rest up there for a bit. Dante conceded and so the group strolled in. Dante found a tree with shade and leaned against it, joined by Blake and Athena as Ruby grabbed Weiss and Yang, dragging them to the swings. Weiss was trying to resist but Athena could see the faintest smile on her face.

They watched in relaxed silence as the three played on the swings, Weiss and Ruby sitting while Yang pushed them, though she felt a bit worried at how Yang was slowly pushing with more force every other push. Knowing Yang and Ruby, they were going to attempt having Ruby swing a full rotation. Sure enough they tried it but it resulted in Ruby being launched from the swing twenty feet into the air flying straight for a nearby bench with a couple on it.

Athena was about to move when she noticed that Dante had already bolted from his positon and caught her mid air before she could crash. Dante quickly apologized to the couple for the interruption and brought Ruby back to the tree, still not setting her down. Once Weiss and Yang caught up and everyone stood together Dante set Ruby down. He looked between her and Yang with a classic glare before he flicked them both in the forehead. They both yelped at the sudden contact.

"What was that for?" asked Yang "and ow!"

"You know exactly what that was for, Yang" Dante replied in an annoyed voice.

"Serves you right, you should know how to behave in a public park" Weiss added while crossing her arms.

"Weiss, zip it" Dante said curtly. Weiss looked at him like a girl who was just told she couldn't get a promised treat. She squeaked "Sorry" and looked down.

Blake giggled but a quick look from Dante stopped her and she looked down as well. Dante let out a sigh before he looked at them all.

"It's not a big deal. Yang and Ruby, be more careful if there are civilians around. Weiss, if I'm the one doing the reprimanding, you don't need to add in. Blake, don't make fun of your teammates being scolded. Ok?"

The four girls nodded and looked up to see if Dante had anything more to say.

"Now let's keep going. I believe some of you wanted to go shopping, right?"

The girls nodded, all looking relieved that they weren't really in trouble. Ruby perked instantly as if she hadn't just gotten flicked and started tugging at Dante's arm for them to get moving. The group started to move, Ruby and Dante in the lead when suddenly Ruby stopped and looked up at Dante.

"Hey Dante?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have anyone, like a girlfriend?"

"What!?" Dante looked completely unprepared for such a question. The group halted as well, everyone wondering what he would answer. Dante looked away for a moment before turning back to Ruby.

"Yeah . . . I do" he answered. As he said that Athena felt a knot form in her stomach. She wasn't sure why but learning that Dante had someone suddenly made her sad. '_What's up with me? I should be happy for him . . . he has someone . . . special. You're his partner, his friend . . . friend, just friend' _Athena looked at her feet getting sadder at the thought.

"Why the sudden interest Ruby" Dante asked after a brief pause, oblivious to Athena's reaction.

"I just got curious when I watched that couple walk away is all" Ruby answered innocently.

"Well, ok. Now you know. Let's go" he said as he resumed walking. The girls soon started following but Athena took a moment to start walking again.

She looked at Dante's back and felt the knot return '_. . . Just . . . friends . . .'_

* * *

**_Author's Rant: Well . . . Dante's in a pickle. You are you playing at!? Also that competition though. Hope none of the ladies have a heart attack and Blake you closet perv! Don't worry the girls will get their own revenge soon enough ;)_**

**_I'm scared to see what Crato will do with team JNPR. We can agree he is a 'questionable' influence. Good lock Lucian_**

**_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review~Favorite~Follow_**


	13. Blondes United! A Conclusion to the Week

**Author's Note: Lets see how the characters continue to develop. A chapter to round out the groups, a soft conclusion to the weekend. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does. **

* * *

Damn this morning. In one night there was a sudden mission, a teammate got shot then said teammate went berserk killing everything in sight before torturing one captive and executing another. Not that he had a problem with killing but it was still creepy seeing Dante's expression as he did it. If the night couldn't get more annoying, the air in their dorm suddenly got tense and Athena was way too quiet the whole way back, even Lucian wouldn't go for any jokes. After getting showered, Havasu and Thantos showed up trying to get all chummy adding more weird tension to the already stuffy dorm. On any other occasion he would have been cool with it but he himself was still miffed by Dante's sudden revelation. He had hoped that Dante trusted his team enough to let them know he was a faunus but apparently not.

As the night progressed and Dante and Lucian explained the history off the faunus, he started to feel like shit for getting angry though he did a pretty good job of hiding it since there were more people then he was comfortable getting pissed in front of. He talked a little with Lucian after Dante sent them to bed, wanting to know if he had a similar 'tendencies' as Dante when angered. He said that it sometimes happened but he had a good control on it, though he wasn't really reassuring. He let the issue alone and went to bed, too tired to really want to think on the subject.

Sadly for him, Lucian was an early bird, and so the blonde woke up to the sounds of his wolf partner changing for a morning run. When Lucian left, he tried to fall asleep again but couldn't manage it so he settled for staring at the roof. He wasn't sure how long it was but later some noise coming from the common room got his attention, mainly Athena's voice in an obvious whine. He made his way to the door and slowly opened it, just enough to stick his head out.

He almost lost his grip on the door, shocked by the sight before him. Athena was straddling Dante on the sofa, leaning over him as her hand started to trail down his chest. Just before her hand reached his waist he ducked his head back in, not wanting to see the two 'get busy'. In all honestly catching the two made him feel a little jealous. '_What the hell!? I try to flirt a little and she shoots me down instantly but he literally __**rips**__ people apart right in front of her and she goes after him!?There has got to be some foul play at work here'_ he fumed.

He took some breathes to cool off. He was one to let bygones be bygones, and being jealous was not his intent. He needed to establish a better relationship with both of them and being petty wouldn't help anything.

Soon he heard the door to the dorm open along with Lucian's voice. He listened in as the occupants started to talk back and forth. He tried to imagine there faces, especially team RWBY's reactions at catching the partners on the sofa. He laughed to himself, his mood already improving. When he heard team JNPR arrive he instantly got the bright idea to walk out as he was dressed only in shorts to see how the girls would react. Needless to say, it was very satisfying seeing all the girls blush though much to his disappointment Athena was unfazed. He didn't let it bring him down and focused on answering Lucian's taunt.

As the banter continued, shifting from Lucian to Dante leading to their little competition. He was sure Dante knew who would vote for him and baited him into doing his homework for the week. '_I'll find some way to get back at him later on' _he thought as he changed, getting ready for some breakfast and possible training with team JNPR. As he put on some workout shorts and sleeveless shirt he caught on to Dante's laughter. Apparently something funny was going on. He waited some more as he heard what sounded like Dante, Athena, and team RWBY leaving before he himself left his room.

Team JNPR were sitting around the sofa, some with confused expressions.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"Um, I'm not entirely sure . . ." replied Pyrrha.

"It seems team RWBY had a very big misunderstanding with Dante and Athena." Added Ren.

Nora nodded furiously to Ren's explanation, a light blush on her cheeks. Judging by their looks Crato could guess what the nature of this 'misunderstanding' was and like a good mentor he teased them mercilessly.

"Oh come on. You guys are big kids already, no need to be so shy about it." He said as he nudged Jaune with his elbow. The smaller blonde chuckled nervously seemingly unable to meet his mentor's gaze. '_Odd, kid looks pretty down. I wonder what's up.'_ He pondered. He was about to ask but then Lucian appeared, finished with his quick shower and dressed casually in some cargo shorts and grey t-shirt.

"Alright guys, lets head to the cafeteria." He said as he started heading out. Crato and team JNPR followed, the first years mostly quiet for the small walk, Nora making the only noise. They soon arrived and served themselves. As they sat around a table, Crato made note of what everyone was eating. Nora had a dangerous amount of pancakes drenched in syrup, Ren a smaller plate of pancakes, eggs, and sausage. Jaune had mostly eggs, toast, and bacon while Pyrrha had a more balanced plate of ham, egg whites, cheese, toast, and orange juice. Lucian had a bowl of cereal, a side of fruits, and eggs while Crato himself staked his plate with every protein he saw along with a large bowl of oatmeal. As they ate some started to chat in between bites.

"So what is the plan for today?" asked Pyrrha.

"You guys are going to fight against me out in the fields. Lucian already got to test you guys and said he was satisfied with your performance overall. I want to get a more individual read on your skill sets" answered Crato.

"Um, you aren't going to . . . I don't know . . . brutally beat us into pulps like Dante and Athena did to team RWBY, are you?" asked Jaune as he nervously forked his eggs.

"It wasn't that bad" interjected Lucian. "It was just some . . . tough love"

"I don't think thrashing them around and then nearly slitting one of their throats counts as tough love. I mean, Dante didn't even hold back when he slammed Ruby into the floor, punched Blake in the jaw, or kneed Weiss in the gut so hard she couldn't stand properly for an hour after!" Jaune shouted back, his voice betraying his terror and apparent anger with Dante's methods.

Crato whistle. "So that's why he was so willing to bake cookies for them as a reward. I don't think I would have been that nice"

"What!?" Jaune looked incredulous "How can you say that? He didn't show any restraint even though he knew he was stronger!"

Crato sighed, annoyed with Jaune naivety. He glanced at Lucian to see if he would respond but got back a stare. It read 'You handle this one'. Crato looked back at the first years, all waiting for a reply or justification of Dante's methods. '_This might scare them but sugar coating won't help them' _he thought as he swallowed some oatmeal.

"Look Jaune. First of trust me when I say, Dante was going as softly as he could with team RW-"

"But you didn't even see it!" Jaune interrupted.

"Jaune!" Crato said, his patience running thin. "Team RWBY is alive. That's all I need to know. If Dante had really not held back those girls would be dead. The only reason it seemed so brutal to you is because you haven't experienced real combat yet. If you can't take that kind of punishment in the safety of a training arena, what makes you think you'll be ready once in the field."

". . ."

"You need to realize that you are in an academy to learn to fight, to take the burden of mankind, in a fight against the Grimm. To do that you need to let go of childish ideals, they won't help you out in the real world."

Crato stood, his meal already finished and looked down at the first years. "I'm going to get some equipment. Meet me in the fields near the edge of the Emerald Forest in thirty minutes." He said before turning to leave. He knew Lucian would be able to handle any other complaints that the first years had so he headed for the gym and armory to pick up some gear he would need for his 'lessons'.

* * *

Crato waited as a pleasant breeze rolled by, some of his hair falling across his eyes. He was deep in thought '_Those kids, I can't believe even at this point they can still be so naïve. All talk about being heroes and such but then when it's crunch time they get cold feet. Well, now at least I respect Dante a little more. He was willing to teach those girls the harsher reality that they might have to someday face. There is always an opponent you can't take down alone and the chances of dying only increase from here.' _Crato sighed, moving his hair out of his eyes. He looked across the field and watched as Team JNPR approached, Lucian leading them.

They stopped when they were about five meters away while Lucian stood beside Crato, looking at the first years as well. They were all dressed in their combat gear, weapons drawn, their faces determined. Crato nodded to himself, satisfied with their appearances and stepped back to pick up one of his items he retrieved from the armory. It was a single double-edged short sword, roughly 2 and ½ feet. It was simple re-enforced iron, heavy and dull, meant to test other weapons but not be used in actual combat due to its excessive weight and short reach. He turned back to the first years, all of whom were eyeing his weapon cautiously.

"I'm going to go one on one against each of you to get a sense of your overall skill level and combat style. You keep attacking until I say stop, am I clear?"

None of the first years said anything so Crato called out the first one. "Pyrrha"

The others backed away, allowing for Crato and Pyrrha to have a large space to themselves. Lucian took a position at the half way between them. He was also going to study how each first year fought alone.

Crato raised his single blade, waiting to begin the match. Pyrrha gave him a questioning look before asking "Why that sword? It doesn't even look like you are supposed to actually fight with it?"

"It's my way of holding back. If I cut you with my blade, you won't be able to fight for a least 24 hours. With this, I don't have to be too worried about chopping you up or something" he replied. "Now, begin!"

Pyrrha launched forward, taking the initiative to strike. She went with a forward thrust of her spear, testing Crato's defense and reactions. '_Good. A new opponent should be tested before fully engaging' _he thought as he swiftly knocked away Pyrrha's thrust. She stepped around repeating the thrust in rapid succession, each aimed to a new spot. Some low, some high, testing to see if Crato would react slower to any of them. Crato kept pace with her, matching her movement with his own as he deflected each thrust with easy while he looked for any openings in Pyrrha's form.

'_She has good instincts and fast reflexes. I guess I shouldn't expect any less from the four time Mistral tournament champion'_ he thought before he stepped in to deliver a horizontal swipe. Pyrrha reacted in the nick of time, raising her shield to shoulder level, catching Crato's strike. What she didn't expect was the monstrous force behind the blow as she was knocked off her feet, tumbling backwards to avoid another attack.

As she stood back up Crato could tell she was having some difficulty maintaining the shield in a raised position. Crato wasn't going to ease up and dashed into Pyrrha's guard. She tried to thrust forward in hopes of forcing him back but he simply sidestepped the point and brought the butt of the blade into her gut before she could move her already injured arm and shield for a block. The wind was knocked out of her as she fell back, landing several feet away from her original position.

Crato watched as she tried to recover her breathe, but knew he had put too much force for her aura to successfully take the damage but that was his intent. He was going to force them to realize just how bad they could be outmatched when an opponent didn't go softly on them. '_Let's see if they consider Dante harsh after I'm done here'. _

"That's enough Pyrrha, you are done." He said. Pyrrha glared back at him, forcing herself to get up on shaky legs. Crato felt relieved to see that the Spartan had a true fighting spirit but this was not the place to show it. The moment she took up a position he rushed in, a flurry of strikes aimed for Pyrrha's torso and sides. Pyrrha managed to shift her spear into its sword form but even just barely managed to parry each of Crato's swipes.

She tried to back away from the intense exchange but Crato kept the pressure forcing her to stay on the defensive. As he raised the blade for a stronger overhead strike he felt something push the blade's angle away from its course. The blade fell to the right just barely grazing Pyrrha's shield.

Crato jumped back, sword still in hand wondering what had interfered with his match ending strike. The blade still felt unusually heavy, as if it was trying to fall to the ground. He noted a slight black aura brimming the edges of the sword '_The hell!? What's up with this sword? . . . Wait isn't that aura?' _he glanced at Pyrrha's shield arm and noticed a similar aura around her closed fist. '_Her semblance huh? I could just use mine . . . but that might seriously hurt her. I'll just do this the old fashion way' _

Crato switched the blade from his right to left and tightened his grip around the hilt as he focused on any opening on Pyrrha's left. Her shield was raised too high meaning she would react slower to a strike from that angle. Crato rushed forward heading straight for Pyrrha's center. She took the bait, positioning her sword to meet directly with Crato's but just before he was in reach he bolted to her left. Before she could adjust to the sudden shift Crato drove his right fist into her shield followed by a yelp of pain from Pyrrha. She didn't have time to brace her arm for the impact so the force went straight through the arm and into her shoulder launching her several feet before finally landing on her side.

Crato noted that he left a small impression of his knuckle on the shield, a sizable dent around it. '_Looks like I'll have to fix that later'_ he thought as he walked over to help Pyrrha up. She flinched when he got near her, a slight look of fear in her eyes. She probably thought she was in trouble for continuing even after Crato had announce the end of the match, his cold words from breakfast likely running through her mind.

"It's ok, Pyrrha. I know I said I wouldn't have been as nice but it doesn't mean I'm going to purposely hurt you or anything" he said in a soft tone. She seemed to relax with his words, enough for him to help her up and make a quick check of her arm and shoulder.

"Looks like you got some bruising but nothing is broken. You'll probably need to stay off that side when you sleep for a day or two, and you are definitely going to be sore but otherwise you are ok. Bye the way, after we finish up today, leave your shield with me. I'll have it fixed by tomorrow"

"What do you mean?" asked Pyrrha as she removed the shield to inspect it. " . . . Oh . . ." she said once she found the dent, a look of shock across her face. She looked back at Crato.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone dent my shield so easily . . . I'm glad you didn't hit me directly"

"Just consider it a love tap from your awesome mentor" he said with an exaggerated wink. Pyrrha chuckled lightly at Crato's joke. He gestured for her to rejoin the others near the edge of the forest and called his next opponent.

"Nora"

"Coming" replied the bubbly ginger.

Crato patiently waited as Nora approached and took up her own stance, her oversized hammer held with both arms.

"Begin"

Nora hoisted her hammer behind her and ran forward, intent on clobbering Crato before he got the chance to attack her. He had never seen her in action so he sided with caution and jumped over the horizontal swipe, out of Nora's reach. As Nora moved past with the momentum Crato reeled around and brought his sword up in a defensive stance. He had seen Ruby fight briefly in the initiation and assumed Nora had a similar style though her attacks were heavier albeit slower. He maneuvered around her strikes waiting for the best moment to counter.

She brought down the hammer in an overhead fall aimed at Crato head. He waited until the last moment before ducking around the hammer, catching Nora on the side with the flat of the blade. She stumbled to the side, surprised by the sudden counter but hoisted the hammer for another run at him. This time Crato jumped over the swipe, his leg bashing into Nora's right shoulder from a roundhouse kick with enough force to make her let go of her hammer as she careened away. After rolling to a stop she stood up, dazed from the hit.

Crato picked up her hammer with his empty had and tested the balance. He was impressed by its weight, wondering how such a small girl could wield such a large weapon with relative ease. Sure Ruby's scythe wielding was impressive but this hammer completely outclassed it in weight though the balance was almost perfect. He swung it around effortlessly, unaffected by the weight. Nora was gawking at her mentor, apparently not expecting him to swing the hammer around so easily with only one hand.

After a bit Crato tossed the weapon back to Nora and motioned for her to continue. She seemed hesitant at first but soon rushed forward, a swipe aimed for Crato's head. Instead of dodging Crato stood still, his blade at his side as he waited for hammer to fall. Just before the hammer made contact with his cheek Crato's hand shot up and stopped the hammer dead. Nora's arms shook as the force returned up her arms and into her small frame. Crato thought she would drop the hammer but in that instant he forgot one little detail. Nora's hammer was also a grenade launcher and Crato's hand was right over the muzzle.

Nora pulled the trigger unleashing one of her custom pink grenades into Crato's hand. The force of the blast pushed Nora away, landing on her rear a few feet away from Crato. As the smoke settle, Nora stared in shock to see that her mentor hadn't budged at all, his hand still raised where the hammer had previously been.

"H-How!? Even with aura that hit should have sent you packing! Even Ren with his aura control can't take that hammer/grenade combo point blank!" Nora asked, in too much shock to register that Crato had gone on the offensive.

'_Sorry Nora but you are not ready to know about those techniques. Maybe in a few years'_ he thought as he rushed Nora and delivered one solid punch into her gut, effectively winding her in the same fashion as Pyrrha. Crato stood over her waiting to see if she could recover but it was evident that she was out for now. '_She took three hits . . . impressive to say the least and without armor or shielding. This one is going to get tough later on' _he mused as he offered Nora a hand. She took it and was hoisted up though she couldn't stand fully straight, still trying to recover her breath.

Lucian walked over and helped Nora back to the edge of the forest as Crato called his next victim.

"Ren"

Ren approached slowly, carefully looking over Crato as he prepared himself. Crato returned the gaze, careful to make sure he had a good idea of how Ren would fight. Of their whole team, Crato knew Ren would probably be the most challenging due to his fight style. While Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune relied heavily on their weapons, Ren was a close combat fighter with natural talent in aura manipulation. Crato himself was a weapons specialist. Sure he could use aura well and physically could probably go toe to toe with Lucian or Dante but he wasn't exactly the most skilled fighter. He usually settled for overwhelming an enemy with his sheer strength and his semblance whenever he couldn't use his weapon.

The two squared off for a few moments before Crato spoke "Begin"

Ren immediately opened fire with both guns, Crato evading to the sides. The two circled, Crato trying to close the distance but Ren either back peddled or cut of his path with bullets keeping Crato back. After some time Ren finally emptied both magazines and was forced to get close. Crato could tell that Ren was avoiding getting near his bare hand more than the dull blade in the other. '_Smart. He knows if I strike him directly with a punch he won't be able to stop it even with his aura control'_

Crato went for a stab but Ren managed to deflect it with the bladed ends of his guns. Crato made note of the fact that the force didn't overwhelm him, probably from sparring regularly with Nora. He started a rapid succession of strikes to see how Ren would adapt to the change in tactics. Ren relied heavily on deflecting or evading every strike. Crato forced him into the same pattern as Pyrrha, not leaving any openings for Ren to retaliate until he managed to knock one of his guns out of his left hand. Without one of his guns Ren started to parry Crato's blade with his other gun while attempting to strike Crato directly with his open hand.

Crato disengaged Ren after a while, Ren panting lightly from being forced to maintain Crato's pace. '_He's done very well, I should test just how much kick his attacks have' _Crato tossed his sword to the side, Ren giving him a questioning look.

"That's enough with weapons. Continue with unarmed combat, do not hold back in the slightest" explained Crato.

Ren nodded and put down his remaining gun beside the gun that had been previously knocked from his grip. He then reassumed his combat stance waiting for Crato to signal. Crato just gave him a nod and Ren launched forward into the assault. Crato evaded most of Ren's attacks, deflecting a few aside, throwing the occasional counter whenever Ren seemed to drop his guard.

Even though Crato himself was not the most skilled fighter, he still had too much experience and speed for Ren to successfully land any attack. They continued this pattern for some time until Ren let one strike carry too much momentum causing him to overstep, leaving his shoulder exposed to Crato. Capitalizing on the opening Crato delivered one strike into Ren's shoulder blade, enough force to drop Ren to one knee. Crato thought that Ren was probably too tired to continue the fight and the blow had finished it but to his surprise there was more.

In that moment Crato had dropped his guard Ren sprung up and landed an aura coated dual-palm strike straight into Crato's gut. '_Shit!'_ Crato managed to react in time and balanced his aura just around his gut matching Ren's aura level while simultaneously cancelling the impact of his strike. Ren's eyes went wide at the unexpected defense, completely defenseless as Crato slammed the side of his head with a backhand strike.

Ren toppled to the side, Crato's strength being more than he could take. '_Damn, these guys are better then what you would expect from first years. That strike . . . just how much does he know about aura already?' _Crato watched as Ren sat up, unable to stand from the jarring hit. He shook his head before finally focusing his eyes on Crato, as if searching for answers.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"I should ask the same thing. That aura control is more than what should be expected from 3rd years let alone a first year." Answered Crato.

"My family taught me these aura techniques, they have been passed down for generations but I've never seen such a technique to completely cancel another's aura"

"If you don't know what it is I did then you aren't ready to learn about it" answered Crato.

". . ."

"For now don't pursue the subject. I'll talk to Dante since he is my leader. If he approves I'll explain it more, ok?"

Ren took a moment before slowly nodding. Crato then gave him a hand. Once Ren was on firm feet he started to walk away. Crato then called his last mentee '_Last and probably least' _he thought before shouting out "Jaune" as he picked up his sword.

The younger blonde jumped at hearing his name called, not intent on taking the same punishment as his team had. He walked over, legs already shaking until he was about 5 meters from Crato. Crato waited until he assumed a proper combat stance. Once Jaune took up a stance Crato noted how his shield was too low, sword too far off to the side and his feet weren't far apart enough to properly lower his center of gravity. '_I'm going to have a talk with him after this.'_ Crato thought before he shouted "Begin".

Jaune started off the same as his previous teammates rushing at Crato though he came with his shield raised as a ram. Crato sidestepped and watched as Jaune struggle to control the momentum and stop himself leaving an opening for several seconds. Jaune then turned and went for a swing of his blade. The strike was sloppy and Crato simply flicked it away with the flat of his sword waiting to see what else Jaune could do. Jaune kept at it, swinging wildly, in a desperate attempt to hit Crato at least once. Crato easily caught each strike, observing Jaune's movements until he noticed a rather large opening as Jaune lower his shield while bringing a horizontal power strike aimed for Crato's neck.

Taking the opening Crato lashed out front kick into Jaune's chest. Jaune landed a few feet back, sword dropped during his little air time leaving him completely at Crato's mercy. Crato watched as Jaune struggled to stand taking shaky breathes glad to see that at least Jaune seemed to have some fight in him. The young blonde recovered his sword and charged Crato again but this time he was sloppier, seemingly more desperate.

Crato got slightly irritated and flicked his blade, disarming Jaune again. Jaune tried for ramming Crato again but was stopped when Crato punched the center of his shield just like Pyrrha. Jaune tried to stand again but Crato stopped the fight there.

"Enough"

Jaune glared up at him but didn't try to stand any more. Crato looked at him for some time wondering what was eating away at him, he could tell Jaune's mind wasn't even really in the fight. He looked at Lucian with the rest of team JNPR and gestured for them to take a break and get water. He wanted to speak in private with Jaune. Once they were definitely out of ear shot Crato turned back to Jaune.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't focused and your technique was sloppy to say the least. You are in Beacon, you should be able to keep a cool head and fight with a plan regardless of how outclassed you might be."

". . ."

"Now what's on your mind? I could tell that you weren't even focused on the fight. Honestly you just seemed angry and desperate."

" . . . It's just . . . I can't match them" answered Jaune.

"Match who?"

"Them, team RWBY or my own teammates. They are so strong, but I couldn't even make you budge. I just got tossed around like a sack of flour."

". . ."

"When you said how Dante did hold back and that he was doing it for team RWBY's own wellbeing I didn't believe you. I just thought that you were being cruel or making some sick joke. But now that I saw how you took on each of us, completely overwhelming us even with that dull blade, I realize just how strong the Slayers must really be. It just made me angry because first I thought the other first years were elite but then seeing you guys in action . . . it made me feel that I'll never be able to compare." Jaune finished in a sad tone.

"Jaune, what is the purpose to having Slayers mentor the younger students?" asked Crato.

". . . To help the younger students?"

"Exactly. I know that it may seem impossible but all of us started at the bottom and had to train to reach the power we have now. It will take time and lots of hard work. Now, since I am your team's assigned mentor, I think I can help"

"R-Really?"

"Yep, but it means you'll have to accept being plunged into a living hell of training" Crato said with a grin.

"Ok . . . I accept!" Jaune said as he stood up.

"Great, now punch me"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Punch me. I need to get a sense of how much force you can put so don't hold back" instructed Crato.

Jaune looked at him incredulously then slowly nodded before slugging Crato in the chest. Jaune yelped when his fist made contact, reeling back while cradling his knuckle.

"What are you made of!?" he asked.

"Properly trained muscle. Now by the looks of it we are going to need to train up your body strength before we even think of training your sword play." Crato replied with a smirk.

"Come on you hopeless flirt. Let's meet up with the rest of the team and get some rest" he said as he slung his arm over Jaune's shoulder and pulled him along.

They found the rest of the team with Lucian in one of the open archways leading to the halls back into Beacon.

"Yo" said Crato as Lucian tossed him a water bottle.

"Yo" responded Lucian.

"So, how's everyone feeling?" asked Crato.

"I think we are doing ok. Everyone is a little sore from sparring with you though" answered Pyrrha.

"I think it was awesome! Well except the part where you completely winded me" added Nora.

"Hehe, you were pretty tough though. Most people I feet don't last past two hits" said Crato.

"Yeah, but you held back!" interjected Nora. Crato raised his hands in surrender.

"Ok fine, I did"

"And you still managed to dent my shield!?" said Pyrrha.

"What?" asked Jaune. Pyrrha showed him the shield with Crato's fist impression and dent.

"Wow . . ." was all Jaune could say.

"So, what does everyone want to do now?" asked Lucian.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm hitting the gym and Jaune you have to go too." Said Crato.

Jaune groaned, already aware of the pain he was in for.

"Well, if that's the plan then I would like the rest of team JNPR to stay here with me. We will do some more sparring rounds but instead I'll simply take turns testing your reflexes and techniques. I can also show them some good stretch exercises that will help reduce muscle soreness tomorrow." Said Lucian.

The rest on team JNPR nodded and Crato started to head for the gym along with Jaune. '_This is going to be fun. I wonder how Dante and Athena are doing with team RWBY . . .'_ he mused as they left the fields behind.

* * *

'_Ok, this is a little odd . . .'_ thought Dante as they sat quietly in the transport back to Beacon. He looked around the group, Ruby and Weiss lightly chatting, Yang trying to get a peek at some book Blake bought while they had been in the mall, and Athena sitting beside him, looking down at her feet.

After the park Athena had become uncharacteristically quiet, only speaking when spoken to directly and not much more than a sentence or two at that. Sure at times she smiled or giggled, usually due to Ruby's antics but it seemed a little forced in Dante's opinion. Dante had even bought her some ice cream as a surprise but the effect was only temporary. Normally he would tune out other people's behavior but Athena was his partner, he wasn't going to sit by if she wasn't feeling good.

The transport arrived and they disembarked. They walked up to the statue at the front then Dante turned to team RWBY.

"Alright girls. It's going to get dark soon so head back to your dorms and relax, after all you have classes in the morning" he said.

"Ahh, can't we hang out some more?" Ruby asked.

"No, it was fun but that's enough for today." Replied Dante.

Ruby pouted but nodded before giving Dante a quick hug. Dante returned the gesture but kept it short. The rest of the girls said their goodbyes and soon disappeared in one of the halls on their ways to their dorms. Dante then turned to look at Athena still silent. He looked around to see if there was anyone around. There wasn't anyone in sight and he didn't smell anything so he poked Athena on the shoulder.

"Hey" he said softly as she looked up at him.

"You ok?"

"Yeah . . . I'm fine, just tired" she answered. Dante wasn't convinced. He raised his eyebrow, waiting to see if she would say anything else. She sighed, realizing that Dante wasn't going to drop it.

"It's not that big a deal . . . I was just surprised about what you said at the park"

_'__The park? What was it that I said . . . scolded the girls then Ruby asked about . . . oh!'_ Dante looked at Athena's eyes, finally getting a better picture of what was going on. He cleared his throat as he thought up how to proceed.

"The bit about me being in a relationship, huh"

"Yeah . . . I mean that's great, you should be happy and I'm glad you have someone like that . . ." she said with a forced smile.

He understood now. He had opened up to her more than anyone else aside from his parents and had formed a bond with her. He would be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't feel something towards her. Protective, caring, platonic affection, and the want for her presence but he didn't like playing with people's feelings. Even if it had been one date and kiss, Dante still felt loyal to Amber's feelings and didn't want to hurt her feelings.

He was much like his father in that sense, very old fashioned about treatment of the girls around him. Sure he loved teasing and playing around but he never meant any ill will by it. Now as he looked at Athena, he wanted to reassure her that she was important to him and that he trusted her.

"Athena . . ." he said. "Just because I'm with someone doesn't mean I don't need or want you close. You are my partner and best friend"

She gave him a small nod but didn't really smile. He sighed softly before pulling her into a hug. She didn't resist but didn't really hug back.

"You know what?" he said.

"What?" she asked.

"You are the only person who has seen my tail aside from my parents."

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him in surprise. "What about your . . . girlfriend?"

"She doesn't even know I'm a faunus"

"But, why?"

"I don't know if she would react like you did . . . I'm scared to tell her"

"Why would she react badly?" Athena asked, her expression turned to concern.

"Because most people get scared of faunus and so discriminate against them, especially if their differences are really noticeable. Avian, reptilian, and aquatic faunus are usually the most easily recognized and feared because of their appearance."

". . ."

"Besides, I'm a dragon. If she saw my real eyes she would panic, call me a monster . . . and she wouldn't be wrong"

". . . You are wrong . . ."

"What?"

"I said you are wrong! I saw what you really look like and . . . it was amazing. She would be stupid and shallow to reject you for what you are."

"I don't want to run the risk"

"Dante . . ." she gave him one of her cute pouts.

"I happy with just you and our team knowing. I trust you . . ."

She smiled at that him then gave him a full hug which he gladly returned.

". . . you big dummy . . ." she said once they broke up the hug, still smiling at him.

"You should tell her some day . . . but I'm glad that you trusted me with it. Come on, let's head back to the dorm. You are cooking for the team tonight, by the way" she said with a smirk.

"Wait what?"

She giggled and grabbed his arm, pulling him back to their dorm. '_Well, I think that's a great finish to the weekend I guess . . . someone's helping me cook though'_ he mused as he let Athena lead him on.

* * *

**Author's Rant: With this we finally finish the first official week in Beacon along with the building of character relationships. Now we can get into some more serious subjects. One hint: Faunus behavior. Hope everyone enjoyed. Review~Favorite~Follow!**


	14. Predator or Prey?

**Author's Note: Yes, chapter 14 is here! I will give no spoilers to the content of this chapter so I say to you . . . ENJOY!**

**PS. Read the rant at the bottom. I have a some things I wanna run by you ladies and gents.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights reserved to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

"So, anyone know what kind of 'classes' they have for us?" asked Lucian.

Dante looked over his shoulder to look him in the face, his expression mostly bored.

"Whatever it is, I just hope it's not material that we don't know already" he said. "I mean, if it's how to kill quickly, I already got that down. How to be stealthy? Got it. How to track down a target in high density populations or rough terrains? That comes naturally to me. I really don't know what to expect, we are all capable hunters with experience in field operation so it's not like there is much to learn"

"Aren't we humble?" asked Havasu in a mock tone. The six had met up at their dorms before heading to their first official 'Slayer' class.

"Yeah, I just hope it's not anything like Port's class. It's bad enough that Dante and I are expected to attend his lecture on a regular basis" said Athena with a grimace.

"You and Crato are lucky you guys got assigned to combat instruction" said Dante. "I should bring it up with Ozpin or something"

"Maybe he thought that if he let you near the students during their combat instruction, you might go too tough and end up sending them to the medical wing or something" said Lucian.

"It would not be that bad . . . maybe a little blood" said Dante with a shrug. Athena looked at him and flicked him in the forehead.

"That's exactly why you aren't assigned to combat practice" said Athena as she ignored Dante's glare.

"How about we just get there already and see what's in store, huh?" said Lucian.

"I agree. No use guessing around and complaining about how we got stuck with a few boring lectures" added Thantos.

The group kept walking in silence and soon arrived at their classroom. The stepped into a standard sized classroom, the layout exactly as the others, lines of extended desks, the front rows lower than those behind. There didn't seem to be anyone in the room so the six took up their seating, spread out between the first and second row and waited for their instructor.

"So what time is it?" asked Crato as he messed around with a small pocket knife he always carried around.

"8:58 pm" answered Lucian. "Class should start in a minute or so"

"Who do you think is the instructor?" asked Havasu. "Think it might be one of the day professors?"

"Maybe" replied Dante "It would be interesting to have a professor like Oobleck"

"Why Oobleck?" asked Athena.

"I don't know, it would be fun seeing how a mostly pacifist professor teaches about killing"

"What if it's someone li—" Crato was cut off as the dorm slammed shut announcing the arrival of the instructor. The turned to see a familiar blonde, piercing green eyes looking back at them.

Professor Goodwitch made her way to the desk then slammed down a stack of documents on the desk before turning to face her students. They stared in silence, waiting to for Glynda to speak first.

She cleared her throat before speaking "Ghosts, today is your first class as students in the 'Slayer' Program. This past week has been part of your trial period in which you were watched and evaluated on your adaptation to being mentors and tested in an un-official mission. It seemed that all results have been deemed satisfactory aside from the little mishap involving two former Ghosts."

". . ."

"Now that you are officially accepted you shall be given your course schedules and operation uniforms."

"Operation uniforms?" asked Dante.

"Yes. As Ghosts, your personal wardrobe and combat attire will only be permitted for missions along regular Beacon students or non-shadow op based missions. For any operation given to you by Ozpin, myself or your Head professor you are to use the uniform supplied to you. It will allow you to stay anonymous on operations."

"Who will be our Head professor?" asked Athena.

"She will be here shortly. She will be a sort of home room teacher for you. Operation debriefings, status reports, supply requests, and other details will all be handle by her. Now, the classes you can expect to take will largely pertain to knowledge regarding espionage techniques, group training, history on the operations of other kingdoms, details on currently influential people, and so forth."

There was a knocking on the door "That will be her . . . Come in" said Glynda.

A women dressed in leather walked in and towards Glynda, exchanging a quick greeting before turning to the Ghosts. She had long, dark brown hair that trailed to below her shoulders. She had dark, brown eyes, a tan complexion, light build, about an inch or two taller than Glynda. She wore leather full body tights, a form of Kevlar plate armor covering her torso, shins, forearms, and thighs. She also had a belt with multiple knives and a small caliber gun holstered to her hip. To top it all off she had a black trench coat reaching mid-thigh on.

She smiled at them though they could tell there was no kindness behind it. It was just a formality and greeting, nothing more.

"Ghosts, this is your Head professor, Ms. Nyx" said Glynda. "Now I'll leave you to get acquainted"

With that Glynda left the room. Nyx looked at the Ghosts, carefully eyeing each student before finally speaking.

"So this is the newest group of Ghosts I've heard so much about, huh" said Nyx.

"All good I hope" said Havasu.

"Mmm . . . interesting, can't really say if it was good or not. I did get an extensive file on the warehouse raid and the carnage that was left. Who was it that decided tearing gangsters' limb from limb was time efficient?"

"Well I did the tearing but I didn't realize we had an expected time frame to complete the mission" answered Dante.

"It was you? What weapon did you use? There weren't any recognizable marks on most of the bodies, hell I thought a pack of beowolves had the pleasure"

"I used my hands" said Dante nonchalantly.

"Really?"

Dante sighed then raised his right hand. As everyone looked at it, silver scaled armor began to form along the fingers and his nails extended to form black claws. Nyx whistled at the sight.

"Now that's convenient. I thought they were trying to play a joke when they said a dragon faunus was part of the new Ghosts, now I see it is true. I will say this though . . . from now on, try to be more discrete when killing and try to clean up afterwards. We don't want to attract unnecessary attention."

Dante gave her a half-assed nod then reverted his hand back to normal. Nyx looked over the rest of the Ghosts before turning to one of the documents Glynda left on the desk. She flipped through them for a moment until she found whichever document she had been searching for. She looked back at the students.

"Now, quick roll call so that I become familiar with whose name is whose"

They each sounded off, then Nyx looked back at her document, scanning over some of the material.

"Ok" she said as she continued to skim through the document "Now for your standard rules. I trust that Ozpin has not gone over them in the slightest . . . if it wasn't for Goodwitch this academy would be in ruins already, I swear"

". . ."

"You Ghosts are never to refer to yourselves as such unless in the presence of an authority figure who has already referenced you so forth. Under official communications, you are "Slayers' attending elite training in Beacon. Your mission's details are never to be disclosed outside secure communications. Alibis will be supplied with every mission. You are expected to complete every mission regardless of the nature of the task, no questions asked. Mission objectives can vary from tracking targets, acquiring sensitive information, target elimination, undercover work, and body guarding highly valued individuals. During missions, you are to be identified by your call IDs or alias names supplied for the given assignment."

". . ."

"When not on missions, Ghosts are expected to maintain the guise of students. They will attend several regular classes as teacher aides as well as attend their own specialized courses during night hours. Ghosts are given equivalent authority to that of academy teachers meaning they can use disciplinary actions, recommendations, and request activities on school grounds provided they maintain order. Any questions?"

"Request activities?" asked Thantos.

"It's part of the Ghosts trying to add to the school experience, don't think about it much" explained Nyx. "Now, for today class is dismissed. I'll see you Wednesday for your next class"

"What's the class going to be on?" asked Lucian.

"Wait and see" answered Nyx.

The group shuffled out of the room, leaving Nyx behind as she dug into the files left by Glynda.

"Well that was interesting" said Havasu to no one in particular.

"I like the idea of requesting activities, could lead to some fun" said Dante with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Athena caught that glint.

"Dante, whatever it is your planning . . . no!" she said.

"I agree with Athena on that, after your and Crato's little competition Sunday morning, I don't think either of you can be trusted planning anything appropriate . . . especially for minors" added Lucian with a smirk.

"They won't be minors for long though . . ." responded Crato. Dante promptly gave him a high five as Lucian chuckled and Athena rubbed her temples.

"Oh yeah, I've been wanting to ask. Havasu" said Dante.

"Yeah?"

"Who do you and Thantos mentor anyway?"

"Oh, Thantos and I were given team CFVY"

"Hm, can't say I recognize the name. Who are the members?"

"Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi"

" . . . Velvet . . . that rings a bell. Is she a faunus?"

"Yeah, a rabbit faunus"

"Oh, so she's that Beta I've seen around a few times"

"Beta? How can you tell?" asked Athena.

Lucian answered before Dante could "The scent can usually distinguish faunus apart. She has a strong scent at that, definitely a well-bred faunus."

"She isn't the only one either" said Dante.

"What do you mean?" asked Crato.

"Though most of the faunus attending Beacon are Gamma or Omega, there is another Beta here as well"

"Who?" asked Athena.

" . . . Blake . . ."

"What!? But she's human isn't she?"

"Shush! Announce it to the whole school why don't you!" said Dante with a glare.

"She hides it very well. She uses her bow to hide the ears and heavy perfume. I didn't really notice until after the sparring on Saturday when her sweat broke through. You noticed it too, right Lucian?"

Lucian nodded "Yeah, I noticed that her bow twitches whenever a sudden noise is made. My best guess is that she is some form of feline judging by the scent and some of her behavior"

They arrived back at their dorms and Havasu and Thantos said their goodbyes before heading to their room three doors down. The rest entered their dorm, Crato going straight for a late night snack while Lucian, Athena, and Dante went to their rooms. Once in their room, Dante and Athena noticed the new uniforms left on their beds. Dante picked his up and noted the design.

It was a pair of slime fit pants and sleeveless shirt made of some form of high density poly-fiber material, water resistant and probably tear proof. Then there was what looked like a breast plate made of a Kevlar plate material similar to what Nyx had. There were also matching bracers and shin guards along with combat boots. The clothes was all black, the Kevlar a dark shade of grey. To finish it off there was also a trench coat exactly like Nyx's.

Dante then noticed that there was also a gun and some ammunition clips beside the uniform. It was a simple 9 mm with grey anti-aura bullets '_Figures. Quick kill without needing to worry about the target's aura shields.'_ Dante could use a gun easily but he largely preferred to let his claws handle the job. Quieter, no ammo or maintenance, and didn't leave any traces.

Dante turned to look at Athena, noting that her uniform was exactly the same as his though her uniform probably complemented her figure better. He then grabbed a pair of shorts and stepped into the bathroom to get changed for sleep. He changed quickly, no longer needing to put on his sleeping wraps, cutting his changing time significantly. As he stepped out Athena had just finished changing as well. They both got into bed soon enough. It was earlier than usual but the day had been rather tiring, especially with another of Port's 'incredible tales'.

"Good night" said Athena.

"Night" replied Dante.

* * *

The following morning Dante and Athena had free time until a later lecture on History with Professor Oobleck. They both slept in for the morning, content to stay in bed for as long as possible until Dante received a message on his scroll. He groaned as he reached for it and read the message.

'Hey Dante, its Havasu. I was wondering if you and Athena want to hang out this morning. Thantos had to attend some morning classes so I'm really bored. I'm outside your dorm by the way'

Dante sighed in irritation but got up regardless and walked over to Athena. She was still deep asleep so he gave her a good shake. She fluttered awake then gave Dante a good old glare.

"What? I'm trying to sleep" she said.

"I know but Havasu wants to hang out and if we don't go he will annoy us to no end"

She huffed before dragging herself out of bed and heading to the bathroom to get changed. While she is in the bathroom Dante got into his regular school uniform. A few minutes later Athena reappeared, dressed and ready for classes. The pair walked out of the dorm, an impatient Havasu leaning on the opposite wall waiting for them.

"Good morning" he said with a cheeky grin.

"You better have a good reason for waking us" said Athena.

"Oh come on. I was bored and knew you two didn't have any morning classes today so I thought it would be a great chance to get to know each other better"

"Whatever . . . let's go get some breakfast, I'm starved" said Dante.

The three made their way to the cafeteria, students filing in and out as they headed to their own classes. They were about to walk towards the line when Dante suddenly stopped right in the middle of the door way. Athena noticed first and turned to see Dante's gaze fixed on something near the middle of the cafeteria floor.

"Dante, what's wrong?" she asked as she approached him, Havasu close behind her. She stepped beside him and followed his line of sight, spotting what had drawn his attention. At one of the tables sat a faunus surrounded by team CRDL. '_Rabbit ears? Wait, isn't that Velvet?' _Across from their table sat teams JNPR and RWBY, most watching the transgressions with irritated looks, Blake especially looked angry. She watched as the team picked on the faunus, teasing her ears and laughing at her, a knot forming in her stomach from a mix of anger and disgust. Then the largest of the team, Cardin, grabbed Velvet's ear and as if on cue Athena heard a low growl come from Dante beside her.

She looked at him and saw that he was getting progressively angrier. She placed her hand on his shoulder to see if it would calm him down, but it didn't seem to have much effect. She turned to Havasu for some help but he looked just as angry as Dante. His fists were clenched, his knuckles starting to turn white. '_Shit! If either of these two attack, CRDL will be killed. I got to calm them down or something' _

"Guys, you **need **to calm down. I don't like it either but this is a combat school. We can't fight for Velvet unless her health is directly threatened." She forced out. She wanted to teach team CRDL a lesson but knew that they couldn't. If they directly intervened it would only serve to weaken Velvet's resolve and give the students the wrong impression of the Slayers.

Without taking his eyes of Velvet and her bullies Dante spoke "What if I indirectly force Velvet to fight back?"

" . . . What do you mean?"

"There are certain actions and threats that will force a faunus to respond. I could get her to tear team CRDL apart in a moment's notice"

"What are you going to do?" asked Havasu. He glanced momentarily at Dante before looking back at his mentee.

" . . . I'm going to give her a choice . . ."

Athena and Havasu watched Dante as he sighed to reign in his own anger.

" . . . Velvet . . ." he said in a low whisper. Athena looked back at the faunus and noticed one of her ears stood straight up, swiveling around for the source of the speaker. '_She can hear us from here!?_ Athena and Havasu continued to watch as Dante kept whispering.

". . . If you continue to allow those boys to bully you, you are showing them weakness. Even if your rabbit nature tells you to be docile, you cannot just stand there and take it. Right now, you are being watched by humans and faunus alike, all judging you as weak, inferior, a freak. If you allow this to happen you will from now on be labeled as . . . prey"

As Dante said the last word Velvet went rigid. They watched as her fists clenched and her free ear laid flat against her head. Team CRDL didn't seem to notice this change in demeanor until Velvet's hand wrapped around Cardin's wrist, the one attached to the hand gripping her other ear. Cardin screamed in pain as Velvet tightened her grip, forcing him to release her ear.

Cardin started to pull at his arm, trying to get free of her grip but she held fast. Then she lashed out with a punch, striking Cardin in the cheek, knocking him flat. Before his team could register what had just happened Velvet jumped over the table and landed a solid kick into Russel's head knocking him out cold. She then turned to a very scared Sky Lark as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a knee to the gut.

As Lark crumpled to the ground Dove tried to get a grip around Velvet's neck from behind. Before he could get a hold she grabbed his hand and tossed him over her shoulder like a sack of flour. While he was airborne Velvet leapt into the air and pummeled him in the head, sending him straight down onto a table, shattering it on impact. Velvet landed beside the unconscious Dove, then started walking over towards the recovered Cardin. He held both arms up, waiting for Velvet to engage, a sizable bruise already forming along his wrist from Velvet's grip.

As Velvet neared him, they could see that she was more than prepared to tear Cardin a new one but just as she was about to attack Dante shouted "ENOUGH!"

The combatants along with most of the students watching the spectacle flinched in surprise at Dante's intervention. Dante, Havasu, and Athena made their way to the fighters, ignoring the looks of the other students. Athena glanced at team RWBY and JNPR, the first years looking on in a mix of shock and curiosity. They stopped once they were a meter or so away from Velvet and Cardin.

After a few tense moments of silence Cardin was the first to speak. "Finally! Are you going to take that beast away? Look what she did to my te—"

"Shut up!" snapped Havasu.

"Cardin . . . the only reason I stopped Velvet was because it's sad to see the weak be so helplessly pummeled . . . even if they deserve far worse" said Dante in a cold tone. Cardin gapped at Dante like a fish out of water, completely blindsided by the insult.

"Now you and your team will get out of our sight this instant. If you don't, I'll happily finish what Velvet started" added Havasu, his eyes showing his rage.

Cardin took the hint and sulked over to Russel, helping him up. Dove and Sky seemed to have recovered enough to stand. The four limped out of the cafeteria, heads hung down in humiliation. Once they disappeared out the main doors Dante turned his attention back to Velvet.

She was nervously fiddling her fingers together, looking like she expected to get reprimanded as well. Havasu sighed lightly before placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise. She soon relaxed as Havasu gave her a grin and a thumbs up.

"Well done" he said. Velvet gave him a nervous nod before she finally smiled in return. She then looked at Dante and locked eyes with him.

After a few moments Dante gave her a nod to which she smiled even more.

"Now then, you get to your classes. I'll see you and the rest of CFVY later in the afternoon, ok?" said Havasu.

"Ok" replied Velvet before she walked past them, on her way out to class.

After a few moments of silence the three heard someone behind them say "Wow . . ."

They turned to look at teams RWBY and JNPR stare at them. Athena cleared her throat before speaking "Morning"

The first years mumbled back similar greetings, most still shocked by the event just witnessed.

"T-That was quite the show, wasn't it . . ." said Weiss.

"I'm kind of scared to see what Velvet might be like in actual combat. I mean . . . she took the whole team without breaking a sweat" said Ruby.

"No duh, she's an upperclassmen. There's no way a first year team that just started would hold out against her" said Havasu in a matter of fact tone.

The first years turned to him, some with confused looks. "Um . . . who are you exactly, if you don't mind us asking?" said Blake.

"Oh, the names Havasu Typin. I'm a Slayer and one of team CFVY's mentors"

The first year's expressions changed to that of shock, probably unaware that there were more Slayers present aside from team ASCZ.

"Ah Dante? What did you mean by 'deserve far worse' when you were talking to Cardin. I mean, they got what was coming to them but wasn't that public beating enough" asked Jaune.

Dante placed a finger to his chin in contemplation before looking directly at Jaune.

"No, if it had been me I would have beaten team CRDL within inches of death" he said nonchalantly.

The first years stared at him, unsure of whether he was joking or being dead serious.

"I-Isn't that a little much?" asked Weiss looking rather pale.

"Well killing them would have been too short a punishment" added Havasu.

All the first years along with some other students eavesdropping on the conversation started to shift around nervously, some backing away from them in fear. Athena sighed, annoyed with the looks they were getting.

"Alright, that's enough on the subject. Can we get breakfast now?" she asked as she looked at the line for food. Dante and Havasu nodded and turned to walk to the line when Blake suddenly spoke up "Dante!"

"What?" he said as he glanced back at her. The rest of her friends looked at her, surprised by her sudden outburst.

"C-Can we talk?" she asked nervously. " . . . Alone?"

Dante looked at her for a moment before turning away while gesturing for her to follow. Athena and Havasu watched the two disappear through the doorway before continuing on to the cafeteria line. '_I wonder what's up'_ Athena thought as she grabbed two trays and started picking out some food.

* * *

Dante and Blake kept walking until they were near the statue at the front of Beacon. There weren't any students in sight so Dante decided this was a good spot to talk. He turned around to face Blake.

"What do you need to talk about?" he asked.

Blake shuffled nervously under his gaze before responding "I was just wondering . . . w-what kind of faunus are you?"

"Why so curious?"

"Well, it's just that . . . I don't know how to explain it. Whenever I'm around you or Lucian for that matter, I feel scared but at the same time drawn to you two. I've never felt that around other faunus before and it confuses me even more with Lucian. I've been around wolf faunus before but never felt that sense of . . . fear around them."

"Hm, to explain that I need to ask you a question first."

"What?"

"How much do you know about faunus?"

" . . . Well I know about that they are many types of faunus. They are usually classed by the animal they look like or their dietary habits. Some faunus can exhibit more animalistic qualities making them dangerous and stronger though they have more animal features than regular faunus, like having tails, ears, and eyes rather than just one of those features. Because of this faunus can be categorized into two sets much like wolves in a pack. The ones that exhibit these more animal features are called Gammas while those with less animal features are called Omegas. Faunus also have a tendency to form packs and the leaders of these packs are the only ones referred to as Alphas."

'_Wrong, wrong, and wrong! Who the hell taught her about faunus!? Is that all she thinks she knows about faunus?'_ Dante thought as he eyed Blake.

". . . Blake . . . was that what your parents taught you?"

Blake's bow laid down flat against her head as she looked at feet.

"I . . . was orphaned from a young age. I don't even remember much about my parents" she said, her voice hitching at the end.

Dante sighed to himself, mentally berating himself for being so brash. He wanted to comfort her but he needed to know who had taught her those lies.

" . . . Who raised you then?"

Blake looked back up at him, her eyes threatening to cry, her tough exterior no longer in place. She looked around nervously to see if anyone was close by but the courtyard was deserted.

"I was taken in by a faunus group" she said in a small voice.

"Who?" Dante didn't like where this was going.

". . . The W-White Fa—"

She didn't even finish her sentence before Dante's hand was around her throat, lifting her up eye level with him, her feet several inches from the ground. Blake felt a new sense of absolute terror taking her as she looked at Dante's eyes. They were no longer the kind but firm hazel eyes she had gotten used to but monstrous silver and red eyes. They were Dante's true eyes, the eyes of a dragon, a dragon who had just found something he hates.

In any other situation Blake would have struggled and fought back but the animal in her knew that it didn't matter. She was in the grip of a creature far beyond any of her abilities. Any struggle would be pointless so she hung limp, too scared to even breathe.

"You are part of the White Fang?" asked Dante, his voice dangerously low with unrestrained contempt.

"I-I was . . . not anymore . . . I swear" answered Blake through labored breaths. Dante's grip was constricting on her windpipe.

Dante tightened his grip more while he raised his other hand to Blake's view. As she watched Dante's hand formed the claws that so many before had met their end at. Her eyes shifted back to Dante's eyes.

"P-Please . . ." she whispered as a single tear fell from her right eye.

'_I should just break her neck and be down with it! The White Fang have done nothing but cause pain and fear!'_ Dante was about to close his grip fully but then Athena's words from nights before rang in his head. 'You looked so sad and pained . . . it only leads to more pain and suffering'.

He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He focused back on Blake but this time looked more carefully at her aura. It surrounded her in a soft purple glow, the ends shaking and shifting around from her fear. As he observed her aura he asked one question.

"Are you really no longer associated with the fang?"

" . . . NO . . ."

Dante watched her aura, it didn't suddenly shift or change in intensity . . . Blake was being honest.

Dante took a breath to control his anger and slowly lowered Blake down before finally releasing his grip on her throat. Blake fell to her knees coughing, one hand gingerly rubbing her throat. As he watched her, Dante focused on his eyes and hand, willing them to return to the human state.

Just in the nick of time as he heard multiple sets of feet running towards them. Dante looked to see the rest of team RWBY running towards them, Weiss and Ruby looking worried while Yang looked angry, her eyes a bright red rather than calm lilac. They halted when they were about three meters from Dante, glancing between Dante and the still coughing Blake.

"What the Hell did you do to her!?" shouted Yang.

"What are you three doing here?" asked Dante, unfazed by Yang's shout.

"W-we thought you guys were taking too long . . . we came to check and saw you holding Blake by the throat" said Weiss.

"Why did you do that Dante?" asked Ruby, her expression was scared and confused.

"For now, it is none of your concern" he said evenly.

"Like Hell it is!" said Yang.

"Y-Yang . . . stop" said Blake as she finally stood up.

The girls then gasped as they noticed the already bruising marks around Blake's throat. Without another word, Yang lurched forward, a wild swing aimed for Dante's face. Dante was in no mood to handle her temper tantrum and mercilessly drove a fist into her gut before her punch could connect. Yang crumpled at Dante's feet from the hit, completely out of breath. He looked at the other two, daring them to try something. They both stood still, knowing full well that he was out of their league. Dante heard more footfalls heading towards them. It was Havasu and Athena.

As soon as they arrived and surveyed the scene. Athena was the first to speak.

"What happened?"

"I got into a discussion with Blake and the girls here interfered. Yang went on the offensive and I promptly put her back in place." Explained Dante.

"Harsh" said Havasu as he eyed the bruise of Blake's throat.

"Now then. Blake is going to come with me back to the dorm. We have a discussion to continue. Athena, I'm going to need you and Havasu to make sure these three head straight to class" said Dante.

Neither Havasu nor Athena complained about their orders but Athena still looked Dante in the eyes, hoping that he wouldn't do anything rash. Dante then started to walk forward, Blake following close behind past her team members. Dante glanced back to see Ruby helping Yang up while Weiss asked Athena what was going to happen to Blake. He tuned it out as he continued walking, preparing to give Blake a very cold history lesson.

* * *

Once they arrived in the dorm Dante instructed Blake to sit on the sofa while he went to his room and looked for some medical cream for the bruising. He found it quickly and came back out, offering the cream to Blake which she took thankfully. Dante waited as Blake administered the cream while flaring her aura, the bruises already beginning to fade '_Definitely Beta, no doubt about that'_ he thought as he watched.

After Blake finished, she put down the cream and looked at Dante, waiting for him to speak. He was about to start when he heard knocking at the door. Unsure of who it was Dante made his way to the door and opened it. It was Velvet.

"What are you doing here Velvet?"

She fiddled with her fingers again before replying "Havasu messaged me saying that I need to come to your dorm for something important. He told me your room number and then had me excused from the rest of my classes"

_'__I'm going to have a little chat with Havasu after this' _Dante thought as he motioned for Velvet to come in. She noticed Blake and sat beside her. Dante pulled up a chair so that he could sit across from them. After a few moments Dante cleared his throat to start the long conversation.

"Velvet, what do you know about the faunus?"

"What!?" she asked, surprised by the sudden question. She looked at Blake to see if she knew what Dante meant but Blake remained silent.

"Well, mostly just the standard stuff. Kinds, nature, traits, a bit about different classes and how some types of faunus are stronger than others. Not much more than that honestly"

"Ok then, do either of you know what a Beta is?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"What about Omegas?"

"Aren't those like half human half faunus?" said Velvet.

"More or less, what about Alphas?"

"Pack leaders?" asked Blake.

Dante shook his head "Not in this context, no"

Both girls gave him confused looks. Dante took a deep breath, preparing to tell them the whole truth.

"Ok . . . sit tight because this is going to take a while"

As he told them about how faunus were truly categorized along with the details of each class, the history behind the Faunus Revolution, and then finally the actions of the White Fang, the girls had mixed reactions. They listened in awe when Dante explained what Betas and Alphas are, the power they could achieve. Then their expressions turned to shock and fear when he explained what happened during the war, especially the details about the battle of Fortcastle. Then finally horror and disgust when he explained how the White Fang lead the betrayal of the Alphas causing the great clans to flee in exile, forever weakening the faunus as a whole.

After he concluded his story he leaned back in his chair feeling exhausted. He hated having to tell the history, it always made him angry, made him want to hunt and tear something to shreds. He could tell that Blake had realized why he had reacted so aggressively when she told him of her past affiliation. Now the girls sat in silence, digesting everything they had been told. After some time they both looked up, Blake being the first to speak.

"So then, what kind of faunus are you?" she asked softly.

Dante looked at her for a moment before he began undoing one of his wraps, exposing the armored scales.

"I'm a dragon, an Alpha breed"

"Wow" was all Velvet could say as she eyed the scales. Blake looked Dante in the face before she slowly spoke "Can you show Velvet your eyes as well?"

Dante raised an eyebrow, curious to see why she would ask to see them again but did it nonetheless. Both girls gasped as his eyes shifted, revealing his cross slit pupils with their silver and scarlet color.

" . . . T-Those are v-very intimidating" squeaked Velvet. Dante gave a slight grunt at the comment. He then looked at Blake's bow.

"Ok, then take off the bow" he said.

"But what if someone comes in and sees it?" she asked nervously.

"Anyone who has access to my dorm already knows you are a faunus, so that's not a problem."

"Really!? How?"

"I told them. Don't worry, none of them care if you are human or not"

Blake still looked apprehensive but slowly reached for her bow. She undid the knot and pulled off the black ribbon, exposing her dark purple cat ears. Velvet cooed at the sight making Blake blush. Dante gave her a reassuring smile, letting her know that here she was safe.

"I'm sorry Blake" he said suddenly.

"For what?" she asked.

"For what happened in the courtyard. I reacted rashly and almost seriously hurt you. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and let my own resentment control me. I'm truly sorry . . ." he said as he looked down in shame.

"Dante . . . I forgive you. I know now why you reacted like that and I can't blame you. Now you forgive yourself"

Dante looked back up to see Blake and Velvet both smiling at him. He smiled back, relieved that he hadn't caused a divide between them. After all, he was her mentor and was already very fond of their team.

"That just leaves apologizing to the rest of team RWBY. Yang's probably livid right now"

"I can talk to them if it will help" said Blake.

"But that would mean you would have to tell them that you're a faunus and had past association with the White Fang."

"You were!?" said Velvet, unaware of the transgressions that occurred in the courtyard.

Blake's ears flatten down as she slowly nodded. "But I left them . . . they changed from the kind people they were when I first joined. I don't really know what they are anymore, especially with what Dante told us"

Velvet looked at Blake for a moment before she gave her a small smile and nodded making Blake visibly relax.

"Ok, now that it's been cleared up, do either of you know what you are?" he asked wanting to get pasted the solemn mood.

"What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

"What category of faunus you are" he elaborated. They both shook their heads.

Dante chuckled to himself, amused that neither had realized just how high up the food chain they actually are. "You both have tails don't you?"

Both gasped, Velvet bringing her hands behind her by reflex while Blake blushed a little.

"H-How did you know?" asked Blake.

"Easy, your scent gives you away. You both simply haven't realized that you are Betas"

"We are!?" asked Velvet.

"Yep. After seeing how you handled team CRDL and Blake's bruise already healed, there is no doubt about it"

". . ."

"So Blake, to explain why you feel the way you do around me or Lucian, he's an Alpha too, is that the Betas naturally look to Alphas as their superiors and pack leaders. Even if multiple faunus are together, unless a definitive leader becomes present, packs might not form. Now that Lucian and I are both here, your faunus nature is compelling you to form a pack"

"But why hasn't this happened before? There are other faunus here in Beacon but I haven't seen or heard of any forming packs" asked Velvet.

"Simple. Faunus of one category will instinctually look for a leader in a higher class. Now, most of the faunus I've detected in Beacon are Gamma or Omega. Blake is new so no one has approached her yet and you Velvet, due to your shy nature and habit of backing down, no faunus has thought of you as a pack leader. I think that might have changed with the little show you put with CRDL. Since you are both Betas, you won't pair up unless one of you wants to form the pack and establishes dominance"

"So, what will we do now?" asked Blake.

"What do you mean?" asked Velvet.

"Well, does this mean we form a pack with Dante as leader?" stated Blake as she shifted her gaze from Velvet to Dante.

"Easy there, I'm not really looking to form a pack. I mean, sure you two can come to me if you ever need help with anything but if you want to form a pack, I suggest asking Lucian."

"What if we've already chosen who we want for a pack leader?" Blake asked with a smirk. Velvet nodded as she tried to make a serious face at Dante.

Dante looked between the two, amused with their sudden persistence albeit a little annoyed with the new responsibilities he'll have to manage. He sighed in defeat as he stood.

"Fine, but if you want to be in a pack with me then you are going to need to toughen up quite a bit"

Both girls gave him questioning looks. "You've been living too much like humans. I think you need to learn just what real faunus are capable of" he said with a toothy grin.

Both girls stared at him, seeing his fangs for the first time.

"Too late to turn back now ladies. You've just agreed to be in a pack with a very dangerous Alpha and as such you'll need to start acting like it. As of this moment, regardless of your faunus nature, you two are now . . . predators"

* * *

**Author's Rant: Ah yeah baby! We got the start of a pack! I wonder how Lucian will take this development.**

**Now I would like to know what opinions would be on developments surrounding Sun. He will obviously appear later on so what I would like to know is: Who will Sun follow under, Lucian or Dante? Now, I won't be getting to this part any time soon so that leaves a large window of time for you to PM me or put it into a review. I'll give status reports on the votes with other chapters.**

**Thank you, Follow~Fav~Review (I'll take predictions too ;) )**


	15. I'm Sorry

**Author's Note: Another chapter for you. Shorter than usual, I know but the content makes up for it in my opinion.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"I don't care if he is our mentor! I'm gonna give him Hell!"

"B-But Yang, you aren't a match for him. He'll hit you even harder next time if you keep this up"

Yang and Ruby were bickering while Athena, Havasu, and Weiss followed the pair. They had done their best to calm the berserk blonde but after tailing her for hours to make sure she went to class, they were just about fed up and decided to let Dante handle it. Weiss had stayed silent for most of the time, avoiding confrontation with her enraged teammate while Ruby tried her best to convince Yang to not fight Dante, to no avail.

Athena knew it was pointless so she made sure to contact the professors letting them know that neither she nor Dante would be present for their classes. She sorely hoped that whatever Dante had needed to talk to Blake about was finished. She was also worried about him, he didn't right ever since the proceedings in the cafeteria. He even punched Yang with enough force to incapacitate the brawler without a second thought.

They arrived at the door to team ASCZ. Athena stepped forward and knocked, letting Dante know they had arrived before unlocking the door and slowly opening. She walked in, Yang on her heels, to see Dante in the kitchen cooking while Blake and surprisingly Velvet sat at the table eating what looked like a bowl of hot noodles with vegetables, chicken, and broth. Yang wasn't expecting this sight either since whatever tirade she had prepared died in her mouth. As the rest walked into the dorm Dante walked out of the kitchen towards them while Blake and Velvet looked up from their bowls. He looked at Athena first before looking over at Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. Ruby and Weiss shuffled nervously while Yang stared daggers back at Dante, her eyes still bright red rather than lilac.

Dante sighed before speaking "Hey ladies, how was your day?"

"What the hell do you think? Worried about Blake and wanting to ring your neck!" shouted Yang.

"Nice to see you too. Well, then let's get this settle . . . hit me"

"What?" asked Yang.

"Hit me until you are satisfied. It's only fair" elaborated Dante.

Yang looked at him suspiciously but soon stepped forward and slugged Dante on the cheek. He didn't move as Yang repeatedly punched him in the face. The count reached ten before Yang huffed from exertion and backed up, seemingly satisfied with the results. Though only Dante's head moved from the hits, she had actually managed to give Dante a bloody lip and bruise on his left cheek.

"Happy?" he asked, as if he hadn't just been pummeled.

" . . . A little . . . I'm still angry that you hurt Blake though"

"Well, she is fine, see?" he said as he pointed to Blake. She lifted her chin to show that the bruises along her neck were completely gone. Yang relaxed a little as she looked between Blake and Dante.

"So why did you choke her then?" asked Ruby, speaking for the first time since they entered the room.

"For now, that is a personal matter between me and Blake. Don't worry though, it won't happen again and I assure you Blake will be fine. I apologized to her and I'm sorry for the way I acted. It was wrong, rude, and unwarranted. Do you think you can forgive me?" he said to Ruby with a soft voice, his lip and bruise already healing.

Both Ruby and Weiss exchanged looks before slowly nodding but Yang still looked doubtful. She looked at Blake searching for an answer from her. Blake gave Yang a nod and smile making Yang finally relax, her eyes returning to their regular lilac.

"So are we good Yang?" he asked as he stretched his hand out. She eyed him for a moment before she took it, shaking firmly.

"Yeah, we're good" she said as she gave him a smirk. "Got to say, I'm impressed that you are still standing after taking my punches"

"Oh please, you're not even close to being strong enough to actually hurt me. Keep dreaming blondie" retorted Dante with his own smirk. With that, any tension left in the air soon dissipated.

Dante then turned back to the kitchen to serve himself whatever he had been cooking.

"What are you making Dante?" asked Athena as she sat on the sofa, glad that this morning's issue had been resolved. She would wait until the girls left before asking what had happened in detail.

"Just a plate of pork to go with a bowl of noodles and bread. I didn't get to eat breakfast remember?" he replied as he walked over to the table to eat. Blake and Velvet had already finished but stayed seated observing Dante intently. Athena noticed this, a little perplexed to why both girls were so suddenly observant of Dante. Ruby and Weiss joined Athena on the sofa while Yang remained standing beside Havasu.

"So, anything interesting happen here?" asked Havasu trying to break the silence.

Dante slurped down some noodles before replying "Not much really. Had a long conversation with Blake and Velvet regarding their skills and came to an interesting verdict"

"And that would be?" asked Athena.

"Well, I've decided that they both have earned some special training"

" . . . Special training?" asked Weiss.

"Yep. They start this weekend" answered Dante.

"What kind of training?" asked Ruby.

"Secret"

"Ahh, come on . . . wait, can we train too?" persisted Ruby.

"No"

"Pleasssee?" asked Ruby as she pulled out her infamous kicked-puppy face. To her surprise and utter dismay Dante didn't crack.

"No Ruby and if you keep that up I won't even think about giving you your own special training" he threatened. Ruby immediately quit it though she still pouted.

Dante finished his meal and collected all the dishes, depositing them in the sink.

"All right ladies, if you don't mind I need you to head out. I need to speak with Havasu and Athena alone"

"Kay" said Ruby as she got up, followed by Weiss who politely excused herself, then Yang. Blake and Velvet seemed hesitant to leave but a quick nod and smile from Dante settled it. They both said farewells before leaving to join their classmates. Now that they were finally alone Athena could begin her interrogation. She was about to speak when Dante walked over to Havasu and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Damn! What was that for?" he asked with a glare.

"That was for sending Velvet here without letting me know" replied Dante as he joined Athena on the sofa.

"I thought that it would be good include her since obviously it was something faunus related" Havasu said defensively.

"Could have let me know at least" Dante grumbled.

"So what happened in the courtyard anyway?" asked Athena. Havasu pulled up a chair to sit across them, listening intently.

Dante looked unsure whether to answer for a moment before he gave them a serious look "This stays between us, ok?"

Havasu and Athena nodded, waiting for Dante to elaborate.

"Blake wanted to know what kind of faunus I am. Her faunus side was reacting to my presence as an Alpha and she didn't know why. To explain it I asked her what she knew about faunus in general"

". . ."

"Turns out she didn't know much since she was orphaned and was taken in a by the White Fang"

"What!?" Athena and Havasu said in unison.

"Yep . . . and I sort of snapped for a moment. That's why I grabbed her by the throat. She told me she left them so I managed to calm down enough to release her. Then team RWBY arrived, you know the rest."

"At least you didn't hurt her" said Athena. Dante clenched his fist as he looked down.

"Hurt her? I almost killed her . . . just because she used to be with the Fang. I almost let my anger get the best of me"

"But you didn't and that's what matters" Athena said softly. She placed her hand on his clenched fist making him relax with a heavy breath.

"I could still see her fear when she looked at me . . . even after she said she forgave me. The problem is . . . I'm not sure I can forgive myself"

"Then show her you're sorry. Find a way to make it up for her. Don't just stay doubting yourself, I know you'll find a way to make things right . . ." Athena said softly.

"Thanks" replied Dante.

After a moment of silence Havasu spoke up "So what happened once you guys were here?" He didn't want the mood to persist so he tried to get the conversation moving again.

Dante looked back up. "I gave Blake some healing cream and then let Velvet in when she arrived just a few minutes later. Then I told them about the faunus. They were shocked to say the least especially when I told them that they are both Betas."

"So they didn't even know what they are?" asked Athena "Why?"

"I makes sense. After the war the upper classes of faunus were looked down on so they probably hid what they were to avoid discrimination. It looks like the White Fang has also been teaching lies to young faunus as well, probably fearing having their authority challenged by Betas. It was mostly Gammas and Omegas that made up the majority of the original White Fang anyway so of course they would try to eliminate traces of Betas and Alphas, those bastards"

"Ok, then what happened next?" asked Athena.

"What do you mean?" asked Dante.

"You know exactly what I mean. Blake and Velvet were behaving odd around you and suddenly you are going to train them personally? Something definitely happened"

"Oh . . . well, I might have sort of . . . formed a pack" Dante said sheepishly.

Athena and Havasu gave him blank stares unsure if they thought he was joking. After a few minutes of awkward silence Havasu finally spoke.

"Well . . . that's a surprise"

"So what does that mean, exactly?" asked Athena.

"It means that they are now in a unique relationship with me. Depending on the pack leader's intentions and motives it can vary. In my case I'm a lot like their guardian now. Their safety and wellbeing are now my concerns, that's why I'm going to start training them."

"And how does it affect them?" asked Havasu.

"Depending on the nature of the pack leader, they might develop new habits or tastes, their demeanor might change as well"

"How?"

"Velvet will probably get more confident, less likely to back down like she normally would. They both might become territorial as well."

"Such as?"

"They are both will become aware of other faunus movements. They'll also become protective of me, not that its necessary. Don't worry if they start getting clingy or something I'll set them straight. The reverse can also apply"

Athena gave him a raised eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that. '_Choose your next words carefully Dante'_

Dante caught Athena's look and quickly explained "What I mean is now I'll treat them a lot like little sisters so if any idiot tries to get 'close' to them, he'll have to get past me. I'm not interested in them that way . . . I swear"

Athena stared Dante down, a tricky task since he was several inches taller than her even while siting, until Dante raised his hands in surrender.

"Ok, I believe you . . . but any funny business and I'm coming after you" she said as she poked his nose with her index finger.

"Aren't you two adorable" said Havasu, having been forgotten by Dante and Athena. They both glared at him, promptly shutting him up.

"Ok . . . then I'm gonna head out. It's almost time for me to meet up with Thantos anyway. Should I explain to him this little development?"

"Sure, but just him. I don't think the rest of team CFVY or team RWBY for that matter should know just yet" answered Dante.

"Cool, catch you guys tomorrow or something" Havasu said as he left the room, leaving Dante and Athena alone.

After a few minutes of silence Athena spoke "So, what's next?"

"Explain this to Lucian, get through the rest of the week then prepare for this weekend's training. That's all I got for now. I've never been part of a pack before so this is a little new to me"

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Where are you going to train them anyway?"

"I'll take them deep into the forest to test them out first. We'll leave Friday afternoon and return Saturday morning so it will be short. I'll step it up as the weeks go by"

"You want some company?"

Dante gave her a small smile "Thanks but the first time it should be us alone. It will help us develop some trust. I have a feeling neither of them have ever had a truly close relationship, with other faunus at least. I want to give them that security and warmth they've been looking for . . ."

Athena smiled at Dante, touched by his concern for the girls. At first he had seemed rather cold but now Athena could tell he was more caring then he let on. She giggled a little when she remembered how Dante got whenever he was with Ruby. He was just as silly as her when he wanted to be. While Dante gave her a confused look she got up.

"Come on, Oobleck wanted us to read some chapters from the text since we missed his lecture" she said as she walked into their room. Dante got up and followed, still wondering why Athena had giggled. '_Why did she giggle? Did I do something funny? Will I ever figure this girl out?' _

* * *

When Lucian and Crato arrived later on, it was a small fiasco. Crato for one completely misunderstood what Dante meant by he was in a relationship with Blake and Velvet. Dante should have picked his words better because Crato started to howl with laughter.

"Dante, you greedy bastard! Going after two chicks at the same time and one of them is a minor! HAHA! What's next, Ruby!?" he said while laughing the whole time.

Dante tried his best not to punch him square in the jaw and waited for Crato to get a grip. Lucian wasn't helping much since he was giving Dante a shit-eating grin, amused with his new predicament. There was a reason Dante had tried to pass the buck to Lucian initially. Forming a pack with two young faunus was not going to be easy and Dante lacked experience being a pack leader. He had almost always been solo and didn't have to worry about the safety of others, now he had two inexperienced teens to worry about.

"If it's any consolation, I can help out looking after them if you want?" said Lucian.

"Are you asking to join the pack?" asked Dante, curious to see where Lucian was going with this.

"Hm . . . no. Sometimes pack life isn't meant for all of us" he said, his tone suddenly getting a little more serious. Crato didn't notice Lucian's change in tone but Dante did.

"Have you been in a pack before?"

". . . Don't worry about it"

Dante was going to persist but then Crato finally got up, finished with his laughing.

"So, what does the pack status mean exactly?" he asked.

"It means that if you try to hit on Velvet or threaten either of them in any way I'm coming after you" said Dante with a toothy grin intentionally showing off his fangs.

"You know, you can be really scary sometimes" Crato replied with his own smirk "But fine, so that means that three chicks are officially on the restricted list for me, should I expect any more additions any time soon?"

"Three?" asked Lucian.

"Well duh, Athena, Blake, and Velvet" stated Crato.

"W-Wait Athena isn't wi—"

"Oh shut it Dante. We can see the way you look at her sometimes" interrupted Crato. "Don't worry, so far only Lucian and I have noticed"

Dante looked between Lucian and Crato, confused by what they meant. Sure he trusted Athena and cared for her immensely but he still had a girlfriend already. _'I mean sure I look at her sometimes, who wouldn't? She's beautiful, smart, feisty, and those eyes . . . it's like looking into two perfect sapphires . . . and her lips are so k—' _Dante violently shook his head trying to reign in his thoughts. It looked like Crato and Lucian knew exactly why he did that, both with knowing grins on their faces.

"That doesn't prove anything" he said as he turned and returned into his room, leaving the two back in the common room.

He sighed to himself as he looked at Athena. She had fallen asleep a while ago while reading. Dante smiled to himself, finding it cute how her hair framed her face making her look so happy. He quietly walked over and pulled up her sheets to cover up to her shoulders before removing the text book and turning off her lamp. The room became shrouded in darkness, at least to the human eye, as Dante got into bed. Sleep wouldn't come to him though as he kept tossing and turning.

He kept remembering how Blake looked when he had her by the throat. Her fear, that single tear, he couldn't get any peace until he made things right. '_It wasn't her fault. She was only with the Fang because she lost her parents, raised by their doctrine instead of the truth. I almost killed someone who is innocent . . .'_ Dante got up and looked at his clock. It was 11:20. He quietly got out of bed and put on a black hoodie before leaving the room. He closed the door lightly, careful to not disturb Athena and then left the dorm. '_I'm going to make things right!'_ he thought as he made his way down the halls.

* * *

The room was quiet, the only noise being the light snoring from its occupants. Blake herself wasn't asleep. She had tried to sleep but the day's events kept playing in her head. Learning so much about the faunus, the details behind the war, about the White Fang. It was all so much and now she was suddenly in a pack. She didn't even know what came over her, she was so scared of Dante even after he apologized but she still wanted him to be her alpha. Anyone else would have backed away at the idea of following under someone who nearly killed them. Truth be told she was still scared. When he showed Velvet his eyes, she herself felt the fear grip her again, her throat burning from the sensation of being choked.

'_Then why did I do it? Dante himself said I could have asked Lucian' _she thought as she stared up at the bed above her. After they had left team ASCZ's dorm, her entire team started questioning her about what had happened. Yang was particularly livid and almost turned around to pummel Dante again. Luckily Blake had managed to persuade her to stop, telling her that what was done was done. Dante had apologized to all of them and had even offered to train her personally, so in the end it was ok.

Sadly then Weiss asked why Velvet had been there as well. That was a trickier situation but Blake managed to pass it off as Havasu personally recommending her to Dante and that by chance Velvet had been coming by to speak with Dante. She wasn't sure if they fully accepted the explanation but they didn't pursue further, thankfully.

After a few minutes of pondering around she heard a very soft voice calling her. She looked around wondering if one of her teammates might be awake but then were all sleeping. She heard her name get called again, a little louder but still too low for a human to catch. She noticed that it was coming from the door so she slowly got up and walked over. She placed her ear on the door, waiting to see if whoever was outside would speak again.

"Blake, I know you are awake. I need to talk to you, can you come out please" She recognized the voice as Dante's.

She looked back at her teammates before slowly opening the door and stepping out. Dante was waiting for her, dressed in a black hoodie and grey shorts, looking intently at her. She quietly closed the door behind her and looked back at Dante, wondering why he was suddenly here.

"What's wrong Dante?" she asked in a low voice.

Dante looked around before whispering "Not hear . . . too easy to be overheard. Follow me"

He turned down the hall and started walking, Blake following close behind. They walked towards the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest. The sky was cloudless, a soft breeze rolling by as the leaves rustled. Dante turned to look at Blake, his expression soft and almost sad.

". . . I'm sorry . . ." he said.

"Why?" she asked. She wasn't expecting this and wasn't sure what to do.

"For this morning. You didn't deserve that treatment."

"But I already said I forgive you."

". . . You sure about that? I can see it in your eyes Blake. I scared you, caused you pain. How can I be your alpha if I can't even control myself?"

"Because . . . because . . ."

Dante seemed to be waiting for her to say something, anything, but she couldn't form any cohesive argument. It was true that he'd scared her and she wouldn't be able to forget the sensation of being choked any time soon.

"You can't even think of an argument. See?" he continued, his eyes falling to the floor while he clenched his fists. "I don't deserve to be forgiven, don't deserve your trust . . ."

"Then earn it!" shout Blake.

She didn't care if she had been scared before now she was angry. She felt her pupils become slits as she ran forward and punched Dante in the face. He didn't try to dodge it as his head turned from the hit, his eyes obscured by his hair.

"If you made the mistake then accept it! You are supposed to be the strong one, the alpha! Lead us, teach us . . . I just learned that everything I knew about my life was a lie, I was almost killed today, but I still chose to follow you. I know you regret it, and yes I'm scared but that just means we both need to learn from it."

Dante looked at her in silence. She stared back defiantly, ready to beat some sense into him if necessary. She was tired of running, never trusting anyone, always feeling alone. Now she had finally found something all faunus want, a pack. It meant she wouldn't be alone anymore, that there were others she could trust and rely on, that she finally had something that could be a family. Dante had promised that he would take care of them back in the dorm and she was going to hold him to it.

Dante sighed as he broke the stare, looking off towards the forest. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?"

"Maybe but I don't care. If you really regret what happened then take responsibility," she persisted.

A few minutes of silence passed before Dante smirked a little as he turned back to her. "Fine, I guess that's settled then . . . You have a mean hook by the way. I'd say you could give Yang a run for her money."

Blake looked at his amused face and started to relax. It seemed that her words had gotten through and she didn't feel as scared as before. Then Dante gave her a small grin.

"What?"

"Nothing . . . It's just interesting to see your real eyes for a change. They look nice on you" he said.

"Thanks" she replied as a light blush painted her cheeks. She wasn't very used to receiving compliments, especially about her faunus features.

"No problem" he said as his grin turned to a warm smile.

She smiled back, relieved that everything was starting to fall together. Another breeze rolled through, making Blake shiver. Her yukata and shorts weren't nearly enough for the cool night air. Dante didn't seem bothered though as he chuckled at her expense. She glared back at him, wondering whether she should hit him again.

Dante's face suddenly hardened as he looked at her.

"Blake"

"Yes?"

"I need you to promise me something" he said, his tone completely serious.

". . . What?"

"If I ever behave like I did this morning or do something wrong, you have to call me out for it."

"W-Why?"

"Because I don't want to make the same mistakes other Alphas have before. It's in your blood to obey me and overlook any of my errors but I don't want our relationship to be like that. I want you and Velvet to stick up for yourselves, even if it means standing up to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

" . . . Ok . . . I will, I promise"

Dante nodded, satisfied with her answer. He looked up for a moment, as if he was remembering something before looking back at Blake with a chuckle.

"You know, I think we're both a little crazy. I'm trying to lead a pack with little experience and you are actually willing to follow me. Oum have mercy"

She giggled a little at the face he was making, finally feeling calm and secure around him. Dante smiled at her again before he cracked his neck, releasing a heavy sigh.

"All right, time for bed" he said.

Blake nodded, the thought of sleep was very inviting. They walked beside each other, Dante insisting on walking her back to her dorm before heading to sleep himself. As they arrived at her door, Blake turned to him wondering if he would be ok with a small request.

"Dante, can I ask for something?" she said as she fidgeted a little.

"Sure, what?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"C-Can I get a hug?" she asked, her face burning from a sudden blush.

"Um why?" he asked.

"Well you always give Ruby one and I guess I was sort of feeling left out?" she mumbled back as she looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

Dante chuckled lightly before speaking.

"Oh come here" he said as he pulled her into a soft hug. Blake rested her head against his shoulder, feeling warm and safe for the first time in a while.

"You know . . . you don't have to ask. You can have a hug whenever you want, ok?" he said softly.

Blake nodded, content to stay like that for a while. Even in her oldest memories she didn't recall ever being held like this. The people around her had felt so cold and distant. Even her old partner that she had trusted and looked for comfort from had never really been so warm before.

After a few minutes Dante broke the hug, much to Blake's disappointment. "Ok, bed"

"Ok, night" she said as she opened the door, waving to Dante as he walked away. She walked into her dorm and softly closed the door. She turned around to finally get in bed but was surprised to find three pairs of eyes looking straight at her. She stood still, unsure of what to do until Weiss spoke up.

"What were you doing out?" she asked in a very irritated voice.

". . . Ummm . . ."

* * *

**Author's Rant: Any thoughts, comments, feedback? Let me know!**


	16. Hot Mess

**Author's Note: Sorry not posting during my usual time, finals! Anyways, here is chapter 16, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.**

* * *

'_. . . mmm . . . light . . . coming through . . . curtain . . . got to close . . .' _Athena opened one eye, the light slipping through the slightly moved curtain tracing right over her face, forcing her to squint. She looks around the room groggily. Dante is passed out in his bed across from her, his head buried under his pillow, one of his arms hanging off the side and a hoodie hanging on the lamp beside his bed. The room is mostly dark aside from the little light coming from the window. She keeps looking around until she spots her scroll on her desk beside her bed. She reaches over to look at the time. '8:50 am' She blinks for a moment before she jumps out of her bed in a panic running over to Dante and shaking him roughly.

"Dante! Get up, we have to be in Port's lecture in ten minutes. Wake up!" she shouts but to no avail.

Dante was out like a light and wouldn't budge. She looked around, trying to figure out how to wake him up. She focused on his hanging arm and decided on pulling him off. She grabbed his hand with both of hers before giving a strong tug, pulling him clean off his bed. He landed with a thud, finally getting jarred awake.

"Ouch . . . what was that for?" he asked with a moan.

He slowly stood up, rubbing the back of his head which he had landed on.

"Dante, we have to be in Port's lecture in less than ten minutes! Get changed now!" she commanded, not waiting to explain the rude awakening.

In her rush she started to pull up her tank top but suddenly stopped herself. She glanced at Dante and noticed his gaze was fixed on her or more specifically her chest. She realized just then that she hadn't been wearing a bra under and the lower rim of her breasts were visible. She felt her face start to burn as she looked back at Dante, his cheeks starting to darken as well. He suddenly turned around, grabbing his uniform from his dresser, before he bolted into the bathroom.

She shook herself out of her embarrassment as she quickly continued to strip and get into her uniform. '_I-I can't believe I almost got topless right in front of him. Come on Athena! Are you trying to get into trouble or something!? Still . . . he's cute when he blushes . . . I wonder what he would have done if I hadn't st— wow, wow, stop right there missy! He has a girlfriend remember and you are his best friend'_ she pouted at the thought as she finished getting dressed. She looked at her scroll again. '8:57 am' They had a few minutes to make it but it was going to be close. The door to the bathroom opened, Dante stepping out mostly dressed except for his shoes and wraps. He quickly grabbed a pair of white wraps and did them in an expert fashion. He then put on his shoes and then walked over to the window, opening it fully.

"What are you doing? We have to get to the lecture" she said, completely confused as to why he had opened the window.

"This is faster" he replied as he suddenly picked her up bridal style and jumped out the window from the third floor. They landed rather roughly, Dante's feet leaving sizable impressions on the ground before he sprinted forward, heading towards the lecture halls. The lecture hall for Port's room was soon in sight and Dante bolted through the door before trying to come to an abrupt halt. His momentum caused him to skid up to the center of the room causing a very surprised Port and class to stare at them.

"Sorry for being late professor" Dante said.

Port didn't reply and the class was strangely quiet. Athena noticed most of the attention was on her. She looked down and realized Dante was still carrying her.

"Dante . . . you can put me down" she whispered quickly to him.

"Oh . . . yeah, huh . . . my bad" he replied as he let her legs down so she could stand.

Port suddenly cleared his throat, getting their attention as well as the rest of the class.

"Now . . . where was I? Oh yes, the flock of Nevermores circled round, preparing to launch their . . ."

Athena immediately started to tune out Port's story as she took her usual spot beside his desk, Dante standing at the other end, his expression as bored as she felt. She started to look around the room to see if there was anything interesting to entertain her. She noticed that a few students were eyeing Dante and snickering back and forth. It seemed that yesterday's events had begun to spread some rumors. Havasu and she had tried to do some damage control while following Yang around but the brawler had been livid most of the day, making comments about getting back a Dante for hurting 'her'. Luckily whether it was intentional or coincidence, Yang had never said Blake's name so anyone who happened to eavesdrop wouldn't have been fully aware of what happened.

Sadly the commentary on how team CRDL should have been treated by Dante and Havasu was not a secret in the slightest. She guessed that what they were talking about now. '_Well Dante, looks like you got a nice reputation now' _she mused as she continued to look around. Her gaze suddenly fell on Blake. She was looking intently at Athena, her expression somewhat curious, as she sometimes glanced in Dante's direction. Athena wondered what was up so she turned to look at Dante.

Dante was already looking at her but the moment their eyes met Dante looked away, his cheeks getting dark again. She wondered what was wrong until she recalled what had happened just fifteen minutes ago. She looked down at her feet, a blush forming as well. She stayed staring at her feet for a few minutes before she looked up again, her cheeks back to their normal color, and looked at team RWBY. Aside from Blake's gaze, most of her team seemed to be observing Dante as well.

'_Someone is popular' _she thought as she glanced at Dante for a moment. He seemed to be ignoring most of looks as he feigned paying attention to Port's story. After a while Port suddenly stopped speaking and looked at Dante.

"Now, would any of our Slayers like to tell a tale of their own?"

'What?" Athena asked. She wasn't sure if she heard him correctly '_Is he actually interested in hearing a hunting story that isn't about him?'_

Dante seemed just as surprised by this as he looked around, as if needing someone to confirm what had just been asked.

"Oh, oh, Dante! Tell us about the time you took down a Goliath!" Ruby shouted excitedly. The rest of the class focused on Dante, evidently curious about hearing a story concerning such a feared Grimm.

". . . huh . . ." was the only sound Dante made, suddenly on the spot.

"That sounds marvelous! Do tell Slayer" added Port.

Dante let out a defeated groan as he stopped leaning against the desk and stepped forward to tell his story.

"Well" he started "It's not really much of a story. Goliaths are known to travel great distances during migration periods. At the time I was staying in a small village near the kingdom of Vacuo. I was already there on some personal business when a village alarm was sounded. Apparently a lone Goliath had split off from its group and was spotted heading for the village. It didn't seem that there were any experienced Hunters close enough to intercept the Grimm so I offered my services"

". . ."

"So I set a trap for it in a small canyon that lead to the village. I hid in an outcropping and waited for the Grimm to pass me before I used my blade to cut across the back of its legs, severing a few tendons and slowing it down. Then I ran circles around it until I got an opening. I jumped up and managed to slash out its right eye. It thrashed around for a while after that so I backed and waited for the next opening. After a while I took advantage of its blind side and lounged for the throat. One clean cut and it toppled, already week from blood loss in the back legs. Bled out in about ten minutes. That's it really" Dante finished.

The students were mostly quiet from the story, a few going 'wow' or 'ooh' every here and there but otherwise most were silent. After some time Port spoke up.

"Very impressive. To down a Goliath with only a blade and alone no less, is unheard of. Even with dust, a Goliath's flesh is notoriously tough to cut through, why, most Goliath hunts I've heard of consist of full teams of hunters and military grade guns with .50 BMG rounds as the lowest caliber." Port said.

Some of the students got wide eyed at Port's statement. To think someone could have the force equivalent to a gun round strong enough to tear through armored vehicles was scary.

"It wasn't much really" Dante answered sheepishly, clearly not wanting to go into detail about how he managed such a feat.

Athena was sure that Dante had left out most of the details, probably having something to do with faunus strength or semblance. Before the professor could pursue the matter the bell sounded, officially ending the class. Port turned to the students to announce some homework for the next class before allowing them to file out. Athena and Dante patiently waited for the class to empty before apologizing for their tardiness and leaving as well. Outside the class team RWBY and JNPR were waiting for them.

"What's up guys?" asked Dante, his tone slightly apprehensive as he looked between them.

"We need some things cleared up" stated Yang. The others nodded in accordance while Blake suddenly got very interested in her feet.

"Ok, what?" asked Dante.

"We want to know what you were doing last night with Blake" exclaimed Weiss, her irritation apparent.

Athena looked at Dante, now very curious as to what they meant. '_He was out last night with Blake? Doing what?'_

Dante rubbed the back of his head, his eyes darting between his interrogators. His eyes landed on Blake and she seemed to feel his gaze as she slowly looked up, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"They may have been up when I got back and wouldn't drop it until I told them I was out with you" she said sheepishly, her blush growing with every word.

"Care to explain" Weiss said hotly. This had to be the first time she wasn't nervous around Dante.

". . . um . . . I needed to talk to Blake about the training session this weekend" he explained.

"At such a late hour?" asked Weiss. It didn't look like any of them were believing him.

Dante was about to add something but suddenly a loud voice called "What's up!"

Dante's expression instantly changed and Athena could tell exactly what he thought at that moment 'Shit!' They all turned to see Crato walking to them, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hello Crato" greeted Pyrrha politely. Nora waved excitedly while the others made small gestures to acknowledge him, most still focused on Dante, Athena included.

"So what's going on here?" asked Crato as he stood beside Dante.

"We were asking Dante why he was out so late with Blake" answered Weiss. Crato looked at Dante for a moment before he broke into a shit-eating grin. Crato elbowed Dante in the gut, an exaggerated wink following.

"Dante, you sneaky bastard. You need to let me know what your trick is" said Crato.

The first years, Blake aside, looked at him incredulously while Dante glared back at Crato, daring him to continue. He did.

"So Blake, what did you get to 'inspect' from the list of girls chasing my boy here, huh?" he asked.

"What?" asked Blake, her blush deepening if it was possible.

"Oh, you know what I mean. Athena was caught on top of him, so what did you do?" continued Crato ignoring Athena and Dante's glares.

"I-I didn't . . . um . . . I . . ." Blake blurted out.

"By the way Dante, you didn't happen to visit Velvet as well did you?" asked Crato.

By this point Dante's clenched fists were visibly shaking, his eyes were obscured by his uncombed hair.

"Remnant to Dante. You there?" asked Crato in a mocking tone. Whether he was oblivious or purposely ignoring Dante's demeanor, Athena wasn't sure but she knew this teasing was going too far. She was about to say something when Velvet appeared, walking towards them.

"Hello" she said sweetly as she approached the group. Then she noticed Dante and her expression changed to concern. "Dante, what's wrong?"

"Damn, wrapped around your fingers. Dante you dog!" Crato exclaimed, still grinning.

Dante suddenly grabbed Crato by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eyes, his own face full of anger.

". . . You know what? I don't care if you treat others as toys or jokes, I don't. My personal matters are my own and you have no business insinuating anything . . . so much for a trusted teammate" Dante finished with a small shove as he released Crato's collar.

Before anyone could say anything, Dante turned around and walked away. Everyone was quiet, unsure of what to do now. Crato's grin was gone, his demeanor now solemn.

"It was just a joke" he said, all the humor in his voice gone.

"But he didn't deny it" Weiss said in a cold tone.

"You know what, he didn't do anything wrong!" Blake suddenly shouted at Weiss. Everyone stumbled back with her sudden outburst, especially Weiss since Blake was looking at her.

"If you need to know, he looked for me to apologize. He felt so bad about what he did that he couldn't even sleep and he wanted to make things right. What's so wrong about that!?"

Everyone remained silent, unable to think of anything to say at that. Athena started to feel ashamed, knowing full well how bad Dante had felt about what had happened the day before. He had trusted her and she didn't try to help. A few of the others looked down in shame as well, Blake's words cutting deep.

"And if you are so hell bent on knowing what Dante did, it was a hug. He hugged me, and not to get at me or something, it was because I asked for it. Is that wrong too?" Blake continued, shaking with anger herself.

Before anyone could say anything else Blake turned away and started to walk in the direction Dante had left, Velvet following close behind, looking irritated as well.

"Wait Bl—" spoke up Yang but Athena cut her off with a raised hand.

"Let her go, trying to stop her will just make it worse." Athena said seriously. She then turned to look at Crato. "Dante told you what happened yesterday, didn't he?"

". . . yeah." Answered Crato.

"And you still made fun of him even though you knew just how worried he was about it . . . what a friend" she finished with contempt. "Jerk" she said as she started to walk away herself to look for Dante. '_He's probably by the cliffs. He really likes being around there' _she thought turned towards where she had first met him.

* * *

The breeze rolling through the trees was everything he had hoped for. Soft, cooling, a gentle entity that always managed to calm him down. It reminded him of home, sitting on the tall branches of the Red Woods, enjoying the view with his mother as they snacked on fruits. '_That was my favorite pass time. Sitting with mom, hundreds of feet of the ground, looking at the mountain tops. Sometimes Dad would be able to join us too . . . has it really been so long since I've seen them both?'_ he thought as he let out a heavy sigh, the tension in his body dissipating away.

He thought back to what had happened just ten minutes ago. He had come so close to snapping it unnerved him. After the incident with Blake, Dante was not going to let his anger get the best of him again. He focused on the tree tops of the Emerald forest, tuning out everything else as he relaxed, content to sit on a tree branch for some time. It was the same branch Athena had found him on just over a week ago, the memory bringing a smile to his face.

"Dante?"

He looked down to see Blake and Velvet looking up at him, concern in their eyes.

"Hey" he said softly.

"Are you ok?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I was just relaxing a little with the nice view" he answered.

"Can we join you?" asked Blake.

He looked at them for a moment before smiling and giving them a nod. He watched as Blake jumped up first, landing to his right closer to the end of the branch and sat beside him. Velvet followed suite and landed on his left. He looked back out at the forest, feeling better now that he had some company.

After a while Velvet spoke up. "So I here that Blake got a hug"

"Yes" he answered as he turned to look at her. She was fidgeting with her fingers, slightly blushing as she glanced at him before looking at her fingers.

"C-Can I get one too?" she asked shyly. Dante smiled at her, amused at her childish demeanor. He put one arm around her to give her a side hug. He couldn't really manage a full hug with their arrangement on the branch so he made do with what he could for now. '_I'll give her a proper one later' _he thought as he looked on at the forest. After a moment he released the hug but Velvet left her head on his shoulder, smiling contently.

"Velvet, just like I told Blake, you can have a hug whenever you want, ok?"

"Ok" she answered, still smiling.

He then turned to look at Blake. She was looking at him with a warm smile.

"How are you feeling Blake? I know it was probably very embarrassing with what Crato did back there"

"I'm ok. I told them that you just came to apologize and gave me a hug. I didn't stay to see how they reacted but I'm pretty sure I heard Athena telling Crato off."

"That figures . . . if this morning hadn't been so hectic I could have told her what I talked to you about"

"She knows about the pack?" asked Blake.

"Yeah, she knows about it, all my team does and I'm guessing Havasu told Thantos as well. That's why I got so angry with Crato. I told him what being in a pack means to me but he still tried to twist it around in the worst situation. Won't be telling him anything important any time soon"

"I'm sorry, if I had played off last night better none of this would have happened" Blake said as she looked down, her bow flattening on her head.

"Hey, it's not your fault ok" he said as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Blake relaxed with that, a small smile tracing her lips again. Dante smiled as well _'Maybe being in a pack won't be a hassle after all' _he thought before he noticed another presence approaching. He looked back to see Athena walking towards them, Velvet and Blake also turned to see as well.

Once she was close enough she spoke up "Hey Dante."

"Hey" he replied. She looked down at her feet for a moment before looking back u at him, her expression sad.

"I'm sorry for earlier" Dante tilted his head, unsure as to what she meant.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong" he said.

"But I didn't support you when everyone was trying to corner you"

"Hehe, its fine. I'm a big boy remember . . . but I'm glad you care" he said in a soft voice trying to make her feel better.

It worked "Yeah, I guess you are" she said in a warm voice.

Dante chuckled a little before speaking "Alright girls, let's get down shall we?" he said to Blake and Velvet. They both nodded and the trio hopped off the branch.

Dante then walked over to Athena and pulled her into a quick hug before she could react. She responded in kind before looking up at him. "Dummy" she said as she continued to smile. She stepped back, breaking the hug but still giving him her signature warm smile that he was starting to adore. For a moment his eyes trailed down from her face and just barely looked over her figure.

He suddenly remembered the incident from this morning. Her perfectly toned stomach, smooth skin, the soft mounds of her breasts that had almost been exposed. He hurriedly looked away towards the sky, a blush starting to paint over his face.

"Dante, are you ok? You look kind of red" Velvet said innocently, not aware of the mishap that occurred earlier.

"Dante!" Athena nearly shouted, blushing as well. She had realized exactly what he was thinking about.

Blake and Velvet looked back and forth, confused as to why both Slayers were flustered.

After a bit Dante looked back down at them, his cheeks still red.

"We got up late this morning and in our rush we both started to undress at the same time so I sort of, well nearly saw Athena topless" he explained.

"You were the one looking!" Athena defended, her face as red as Ruby's cloak.

"That's very bold Athena" Velvet said, her cheeks gaining a red tint as well.

"Trying to get close, are we?" Blake teased.

Athena looked at them incredulously, her blush persisting.

'_Ok . . . time to step in before this gets out of hand' _he thought as he placed each of his hands on Blake and Velvet's head.

"Aren't they just adorable" he said to Athena with a grin as he ruffled their hair in an annoying big brother fashion. They both pouted at him but he kept smiling at them. Athena sighed, her blush finally fading as she looked at them with a smile as well.

"Yeah they are. Going to be a handful for sure" she said in a teasing tone. Velvet and Blake turned their pouts to Athena only managing to make her giggle at their expense.

After a minute or so Dante decided to show some mercy and removed his hands. They all grew quiet, everyone content for the moment thanks to the innocent teasing and joking around.

"So . . ." said Athena breaking the silence "What are you going to do about Crato?"

Dante took a heavy breath, knowing full well that it was a matter he would have to attend to sooner or later. "I'm not sure yet. I'll cross that river when I get to it, ok?"

Athena gave him a worried look but nodded nonetheless. Dante looked at Velvet and Blake "You two should head to your next classes"

"You sure?" asked Blake.

"Yes, don't worry. Go"

Blake and Velvet looked like they wanted to object but nodded before saying quick goodbyes before heading off back towards the lecture halls. Once they were out of view Dante looked at Athena. She seemed to be studying him intently.

". . . What?" he asked.

"Just thinking, you said that faunus demeanor changes when in a pack right?"

"Yeah"

"So that means you can change too?"

". . . Yes, though the leader tends to influence the pack more. Am I acting weird or something?"

"Sort of but in a good way. I thought you might have lashed out at Crato but you stayed in check"

"I know, I just didn't want to do something I would regret. It wouldn't have helped anyone if I had attacked him there, not to mention it would have terrified our audience. Last thing in need is everyone avoiding me because their too scared"

"I think you might be a little late for that, at least the students who don't know you personally are anyway."

Dante groaned in frustration making Athena lightly laugh at his misfortune. After Athena finished laughing the pair started walking back to the lecture halls.

"Hey, you think they are serving anything to eat in the cafeteria?" Dante asked as they entered an open air hall.

"Maybe, let's go and see" answered Athena as she turned down another hall heading for the cafeteria. The pair walked in relative silence the rest of the way, most students they met along the way giving them a wide girth. Once they arrived in the soon enough and made the almost deserted line for food. There wasn't much so Dante made do with some apples, pears, buttered toast, cold eggs, and tall glass of milk. Athena also got some fruits along with cereal. They food an empty table to eat at quietly, both too hungry to try to make some conversation. Dante was especially hungry as he ate everything in less than ten minutes, even the pear and apple cores, before washing it all done with his milk. He then sat silently as he waited for Athena to finish her meal.

Once she finished he spoke "So, what's left on the schedule today?"

Athena wiped her mouth with a napkin before responding "If I remember correctly, we don't have anything until our night class at 9. What do you want to do?"

"I don't really want to do anything so maybe sleep would be an option. You?"

"I was thinking of working out actually. Want to join?"

"Mm . . . nah, I think I need some decent sleep more than anything right now" he lied. He didn't know if he could stand to see Athena in tight fitting clothes with sweat dripping off her. The thought alone was making him start to heat up, his hands suddenly feeling clammy as he looked at her.

He stood up before she could make out his forming blush and hurriedly started to walk away as he called over his shoulder "Ok, I'll see you later for class"

He heard her say "Ah . . . ok, see you later" before he turned the corner, leaving the cafeteria and heading for his dorm. He kept a quick pace, stepping around any students that happened to be in his way before they really even noticed that it was him. He soon arrived at the dorm and walked in. There wasn't anyone in so he just went into his room and threw himself into his bed, not bothering to get changed, and was out soon enough.

* * *

"You think he's still angry with us?"

"Who knows? Blake didn't go into much detail after she arrived to class" answered Yang.

"I pretty sure she's still angry at me though" added Weiss. Blake had seemed rather distant after the fiasco this morning and after class, she left them saying she needed to study something in the library. Dante had also stormed off after Crato's teasing and they hadn't seen him since.

"Besides, why are you so worried if Dante is angry with us Ruby? I think how Blake feels is more important than Dante" continued Yang.

"But he is our mentor Yang and he helped me when I needed it. I think we should find him and apologize. It's not fair that we all ganged up on him when we didn't even know what he did or why. We even told team JNPR when they weren't involved and probably made it embarrassing for both Dante and Blake" Ruby replied.

"Let's just drop it for now shall we? We are supposed to be training already" said Weiss.

They arrived at the changing lockers adjacent to the gym and stepped in to change. They changed into tanks and jogging shorts, Weiss and Yang had to put their hair in pony tails while Ruby could leave it free. As they entered the gym they noticed someone was on the pull up bars using gymnastics rings. They came a little closer and noted that it was Athena dressed in black yoga pants and a matching sports bra, her hair pulled into a ponytail and her eyes closed in concentration. Yang whistled at the sight.

Athena was repeatedly pushing both rings under her as if doing push-ups while positioning her entire body horizontally. '_Wow . . . I don't think even Yang can do that' _Ruby thought as she observed Athena rotate her body to a vertical position and then start to do hand stand push-ups, all her arm muscles rippling with every action. After a few minutes of gawking at the sight, Athena opened her eyes and looked at them. She didn't seem surprised to see them and slowly lowered her body before releasing her grip on the rings and landing in front of them.

"Hey girls" she said as she grabbed a small towel and draped it around her shoulders.

"Hi" replied Ruby first, followed by Weiss and Yang.

"That was a very impressive workout" commented Weiss.

"Yeah, you are pretty hardcore to do something like that" added Yang as she eyed the rings.

"Thanks for the compliment but honestly that's a pretty light exercise compared to full on training"

"Really!?" asked Ruby. '_Just how much do Slayers train?'_

Athena gave them a quick nod as she grabbed a water bottle, taking a quick swig.

" . . . Um, Athena?" asked Ruby.

"Yes?"

" . . . Do you think Dante is still angry with us?" she asked.

Athena placed a finger to her chin as if thinking it over. "No. He was angry with Crato. Sure you went and made that scene but he could have answered it if Crato hadn't showed and been a jerk about it."

"You sure?" asked Yang.

"Pretty sure but it wouldn't hurt to apologize, might make him feel better. How was Blake?"

"She was quiet in class and then left for the library after class" answered Yang in a sad tone.

"Then give her some space. I don't think she is as angry as she may have seemed"

"How can you be so sure?" asked Weiss.

"I'm not but if you keep trying to force her to tell you things when she isn't ready or comfortable then it's only going to make a divide between you. Just give her a little time, ok?"

The three girls nodded, understanding that Athena was correct and as her mentees they should try their best to follow her counsel. Athena gave them a quick wave as she left them heading for the locker rooms.

"So what do you guys want to do now?" asked Yang.

"Well, we came here to exercise so let's. Afterwards I think we should get back to the dorm and wait for Blake before apologizing. Then we apologize to Dante. I think that would be most appropriate" stated Weiss.

"Sounds like a plan" agreed Yang while Ruby nodded.

They each then split to do whatever work out they had planned. Yang went for the punching bags, Weiss went to an open area to stretch and Ruby went onto a treadmill. As she started the machine she started thinking up ways to make Dante happy. '_I think he said something about really liking chocolate-peanut butter cookies when we went shopping together. I know! I'll go into Vale and get the supplies to make him some cookies! There's no way anyone can stay angry if they are given cookies. Good job Ruby!_' Ruby fist pumped the air as she upped the speed on the treadmill feeling confident in her plans.

* * *

"Dante . . . Dante . . ."

Dante opened one eye wondering who was waking him up. His eye focused on the figure beside him and he realized it was Athena. He closed his eye again for a moment before sitting up with a groan, still groggy from his nap. He opened both eyes this time and looked around the room, wondering what time it was. He spotted the clock and noted that it was '7:50 pm' before he looked back at Athena. She looking back at him intently, dressed in her uniform but he could faintly make out the scent of her shampoo so he guessed she had gotten back from her work out a while ago.

"Morning sleepy head" Athena teased as she poked his shoulder.

He chuckled as he twisted his back feeling a satisfying series of pops run down his spine.

"Hey . . . how long was I out?" he asked as he got out of bed.

"If you went to sleep straight after eating then I think about six hours, maybe more" she answered.

"Damn, I didn't think I was that tired"

"It's not a big deal, after all we didn't really have anything planned for most of the day so no worries"

"I guess . . . do you know if the others are back yet?"

"Yeah, they're both in the living room waiting around for us to head out"

"Oh joy" he said as he walked to the door before opening up and gesturing for Athena to go first.

They stepped out and walked to the sofa. Crato and Lucian were sitting there watching some news, mostly trivial things about small robberies happening around Vale. Lucian glanced over at Dante before he cleared his throat.

"So . . . I heard there was some commotion this morning" he said.

"That's one way of putting it" answered Dante, his gaze focused on Crato rather than Lucian.

Crato caught the look and let out a sigh as he stood and looked at Dante. He walked past Lucian and stepped up to Dante, looking him in the eyes.

"Look . . . I'm sorry about what happened, ok? I was just making a little innocent fun and I didn't think you would make such a big deal out of it" he said.

"Then did you really need to make all those comments? I don't really care if you make fun of me and Athena can handle anything you throw at her but purposely trying to embarrass Blake or Velvet in such a manner wasn't funny in the slightest"

"Ok, granted it wasn't. I should have thought it through before making those jokes, I admit it. So can we just put this behind us?"

Dante stared at him for a while then switched to his dragon eyes. He studied Crato's aura, the faint blue energy crackling around him, before he asked "Can you promise me that you won't make fun of them again?" in a serious tone.

Crato stared back as he answered "Yes". His aura didn't shift or falter so Dante started to relax, believing Crato. Then Crato stuck out his fist, still looking at Dante intently, while Dante gave him a raised eyebrow.

"If we're really good then give me a fist bump" Crato said in an even tone.

"Really?" Dante asked.

"Yep"

Dante sighed before he chuckled a little, amused with how Crato managed arguments, as he fist bumped him. After that Crato returned to his regular smirk and then plopped himself back down on the sofa. Dante then looked at Athena, she was looking at him curiously so he gave her a shrug, then he walked into the kitchen to get a snack. As he opened up the fridge he heard someone knocking at the door. Athena walked over to it as he closed the fridge wondering who it was.

She opened up and spoke "Ruby?"

"Hi Athena, is Dante here?"

"Right here" he answered as he stepped up to the door. He was surprised to see all of team RWBY there as well but they weren't looking their best. Even though she was grinning, Ruby looked like a monster bakery had attacked her. Her hair was almost a white as Weiss's hair, flour covering must of her head, chest, and skirt. The others didn't look any better, Weiss seemed to be covered in an assortment of sugar, batter, and chocolate chips, then Yang was smeared with peanut butter, and Blake's hair was dampened with what smelled like milk and eggs.

After looking over the girls, Dante noticed that Ruby was holding something behind her back.

"What's up girls?" he said.

"Well, we wanted to apologize for this morning" explained Weiss as she took a chip out of her hair.

"So Ruby got an idea of how to make it up to you and we also asked Blake to help us after we apologized to her" added Yang.

"So we made you cookies!" Ruby said as she brought the plate of sweets from around her back. It was about a dozen or so chocolate-peanut butter cookies.

Dante gave the girls a smile "Thank you" he said as he took the plate. He wanted to dig in but was more curious to know what had happened to them.

"What happened to you girls anyway?" he asked while Athena giggled beside him.

Ruby laughed sheepishly while Weiss sighed.

"It was Ruby's idea so we let her take the lead. It was only then that we realized she wanted to make you a baker's dozen and got caught up in a whirlwind of ingredients" said Blake. "Yang thought it would be funny to scare me when I was whisking some milk and eggs. Weiss and Ruby ran into each other . . ."

"You mean Ruby!" Weiss interjected.

". . . and so Ruby landed on a sack of flour while Weiss spilled the batter she had on top of herself" Blake finished.

"Ok, then why is Yang covered in peanut butter?" Athena asked as she looked at the brawler.

"Blake's revenge" answered Yang.

Dante looked at Blake for a moment and she looked away in embarrassment. He couldn't help it and chuckled at how childish all four of the girls could be when they wanted to.

"Ok, well I'm happy that you girls were so thought full and don't worry, I wasn't angry with you to begin with but regardless. Apology accepted. Now, head back to your dorms and get showered unless you want to smell like a bakery for the remainder of the night?"

"Ok" Ruby said excitedly as waved goodbye, followed by the rest of her team. Dante watched as they disappeared at the stairs and then turned back into the dorm. Lucian and Crato were looking at him curiously while Athena just gave him a teasing look.

"What?" he asked.

"You're getting popular aren't you? Already getting gifts from pretty girls, what's next?" she said with a big grin.

"Jealous?" he teased back as he grabbed a cookie and tossed it back in his mouth.

"Hardly" she replied as she stole a cookie.

"Hey"

Too late, she already ate it before he could snatch it back. She gave him a smug look before trying to reach for another. Dante was quicker this time and raised the plate above his head and out of her reach. She tried to reach up, standing on the tips of her toes, but was several inches shy of the plate.

"To bad shorty" he said with a grin.

"That's mean!" she said with a pout, crossing her arms like a child.

Dante started to poke her in the sides, enjoying himself too much to resist when he spotted Lucian and Crato exchanging lien out of the corner of his eye. He stopped poking Athena and looked at them curiously but they were ignoring them, watching the TV intently. Dante decided to ignore it for now and returned to teasing Athena before another knock came from the door. They looked at each other for a moment, unsure as to who it was, before Athena again walked to the door while Dante stuffed two more cookies in his mouth and put away the rest in the fridge.

"Yo!" he heard Havasu call as he stepped in followed by Thantos.

"Sup guys" Crato replied as he got up from the sofa and fist bumped them.

"Not much, just getting ready to head to class. It's 8:30 already so we should head out soon." Answered Thantos.

"Well, we're all ready so we can head out now" said Lucian as he got up as well.

"Then let's go" said Athena as she walked out. Dante followed behind her, closely followed by Thantos, then the rest.

"So Havasu told me about what happened with Velvet and Blake" said Thantos.

"Yes and . . ." Dante replied.

"You plan to take them to train this weekend?"

"More like test, then we will start training later on. Why? Are you worried that I'll hurt them?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure you're going to have to run it by Velvet's team before they let you take her, just so you know"

"Goody" Dante said sarcastically.

"I wish you luck. With the rumors going around about you, neither Coco or Yatsuhashi are looking forward to Velvet being personally under your tutelage"

"Can't you just get them to back off?"

"Not my fight honestly" Thantos deadpanned.

Dante glanced at him from over his shoulder, wondering if Thantos really didn't care if team CFVY tried to pick a fight with him. After all, Dante had made it known that he doesn't go easy on anyone, even if he is several leagues above them. He wouldn't send them to the hospital or anything, but it wouldn't be pretty either. Not to mention he would have to deal with an upset Velvet later.

Dante sighed to himself, already feeling tired from what he would have to deal with later, as they arrived at the classroom. Athena had already walked in and so they followed in, seating themselves in the same spots they had previously. The room was empty again so Dante leaned back, contemplating what to do with team CFVY while they waited for Nyx. '_Dante you seriously got one hot mess on your hands'._

* * *

**_Author's Rant: Interesting chapter in my opinion. A little development between characters and a few small jokes to keep it generally light hearted. _**

**_I will say this . . . next chapter prepare for feels!_**

**_Hope you enjoyed! Any comments, reviews, ideas, or you just want to say hi are welcome! Follow~Favorite~Review!_**


	17. Demons of the Past

**Author's Note: I'm not gonna sugar coat it. This chapter had several revisions and changes over the last few days and the last version made me want to cry. Time to get some bonding done people . . . see just what's up with certain characters. Enjoy.**

**Also: Largest chapter yet at 8.6 K words**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It belongs to Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

Nyx arrived exactly at 9:00 pm on the dot, dressed in the same attire as before. She didn't so much as say hi as she walked up to the desk and leaned against it, an annoyed air surrounding her. The Ghosts sat in silence, waiting to see what they could expect from their professor who already seemed to be in a bad mood.

After a minute or so she spoke up. "Dante . . . do you recall your little agreement with Ozpin by chance?" she asked hotly.

"Yeah, why?" said Dante, looking equally as annoyed.

"Then why the HELL did you nearly kill one student and threaten to kill another team!? In the open with a large portion of students within earshot no less!" Nyx shouted.

Dante shrugged "No one died though"

Nyx glared at him but Dante didn't seem to care. "Every time something comes up concerning one of you, it comes to me as complaints and paperwork. I would appreciate proper behavior form all of you from now on. If not, then I will simply take disciplinary action . . ." Nyx said malignantly.

"Like what?" asked Thantos, his interest peaked by the idea.

"How about Dante comes up and I show you" said Nyx. Dante grunted as he got up and approached her until he was standing a foot away.

She then drew a small blade from a hidden scabbard, placing it on Dante's left cheek.

"What's on that blade?" he asked calmly.

"Oh, you can actually smell it? Dragon noses must be better than I thought. Don't worry . . . nothing permanent" she answered coldly as she traced the blade across his cheek, making sure to coat the blade with aura to make it past his skin, leaving a two inch cut.

She then stepped back observing Dante as he stared back at her challengingly. After five seconds Dante felt the muscles along his cheek and neck convulse, a searing pain running from his neck to his shoulder. His face contorted in pain as one of his knees buckled, forcing him to kneel. He breathed through his teeth as he suppressed the desire to make any protest or scream. His vision kept coming in and out of focus, his left shoulder and arm becoming completely numb from pain. Suddenly Nyx kneed him in the face, knocking him back.

She stepped beside him and addressed the other Ghosts, all silently watching Dante writhe in pain as he clutched at his neck with his right hand.

"That blade was covered in a little toxin derived from a small flower local only to the Emerald forest. They are called Phlegethon Lilies, so named due to their secretions that, if contacted by the mucus membranes or injected into the bloodstream, cause the body to feel like it is burning from the inside out much like the ancient river of fire in Greek mythology. What Dante is currently experiencing is a condescend form of that secretion making it ten times more painful"

". . ."

"If any 'Slayer' wants to think themselves a hotshot then they'll have to answer to me and my little friend . . . and I do have several more 'friends' if you need further convincing" she finished smugly.

She then turned to look at Dante and kneeled next to him, her face just eight inches from Dante's.

"You may be a dragon . . ." she whispered, only audible to Dante and probably Lucian ". . . known for strength and ferocity but your mind isn't as reinforced. Learn to obey or we will see just what it takes to make you fall in line"

Dante stared at her, ignoring the pain coursing through him, and let out a feral growl while baring his fangs. She didn't react as she stood straight up, walking back over to the desk. Dante forced himself up, taking shaky breathes, sweat covering his brow, and walked back to his desk. Athena was looking at him with worry so Dante forced a small smile, ignoring the pain still numbing his left side. She didn't look convinced at all but still turned her attention to the front, looking at Nyx.

"Now that we got that out of the way, I think it's appropriate to start classes" Nyx said nonchalantly. No one made a sound as Nyx pulled out some papers from a file she had brought in.

"So, as previously training hunters in operations involving assassination, bounty hunting, and for some of you, body guarding, your Ghost training will consist far more of learning about strategies and techniques revolving around recovering sensitive data, controlling information networks, and being taught a variety of 'interrogation' methods"

". . ."

"You will also become familiar with a multitude of poisons, weapons, and assets at the disposal of other programs and powerful companies. Another use for you Ghosts is also to test technology and weapons under current research. The Schnee Dust Company will be one particularly involved party when it comes to field testing weapons and dust effectiveness"

"So we are prized Guinea pigs aside from private hitman" Lucian said blandly.

"If the situation demands it yes. Oh and before I forget, you will probably be subjected to mock scenarios such as captures and interrogations" she added.

"You mean like we are given targets to interrogate and capture in preparation for real ops?" asked Havasu.

"No, I mean you will be tortured as if you really were captured and we will test how long you can last . . . after all you will learn sensitive information so we can't have the risk of you spilling the beans" she finished coldly.

"W-What?" Athena said under her breath shakily. Dante looked at her, the toxin already warring off, concerned about her sudden tone. Her body was mostly still but her hand was rubbing the area below her wrist, and her eyes looked slightly scared. '_Athena . . . have you been . . .' _Dante tried to take his thoughts off it but couldn't shake the idea that the possibility of torture was seriously bothering her.

He glanced at Nyx to see if she was paying attention but she seemed to be focused on reading something. He slowly tapped Athena on the hip making her start before she glanced at him. He rested his hand on the space between then them, palm up and out of Nyx's view, and made a small gesture with his eyes by glancing back and forth between his hands and hers. She realized what she meant and slowly lowered her left hand, lightly placing it in his hand. He softly closed his grip around her cold hand, feeling how the shivers ran through it. He looked towards the front of the class while he slowly began to hum, too low for a human to hear, but enough to pass the vibration through his hand into hers.

He felt her begin to relax, warmth returning to her hand as she calmed down. Dante kept his gaze focused on Nyx but every part of him was paying more attention to Athena, tuning Nyx's words out, as he waited for the class to end.

An hour and thirty minutes passed before Nyx dismissed them, the entire lecture mainly concerning the tools and methods they would need to become familiar with in future operations. They Ghosts walked in silence up to an open air hallway splitting the main lecture halls and auditorium from the teacher's wing where there dorm is.

"I think I'm going to the gym" Crato suddenly said.

"Why, it's late" asked Thantos.

"I feel like hitting something" Crato answered.

"I think I'll join you" said Lucian. He had been oddly quiet for the remainder of the lecture after Nyx had made an example of Dante.

The pair started to walk away, leaving the four others alone.

"So I wasn't the only one that felt irritated for the whole of that lecture" Thantos stated.

"I hear yah . . . Guinea pigs huh? Can't really say I'm too surprised though" added Havasu.

"What about you two?" Thantos asked as he looked at Dante and Athena. Dante glanced at him before looking at Athena. He was still worried about her and wanted to talk in private. She hadn't let go of his hand until they had gotten up to leave and now just kept her gaze low.

"I think Athena and I are going to take a walk, you guys go ahead" he answered. They both glanced between him and Athena before nodding and walking away. Once they were out of view Dante nudged Athena softly to get her attention. She looked up at him, but she seemed distracted. He didn't say anything but gestured for her to follow him. He led her to a small hill just a ways from the halls, a small tree and bench at the top. He sat done and motioned for her to do the same. They sat in silence for a while, neither sure how to begin until Athena spoke up.

"H-How's your cheek" she asked.

"Huh?"

"The poison . . . does it still hurt?"

"Oh, no . . . not anymore. I think it ran out after five minutes" It was true, he had regained complete feeling in his arm soon after he sat down and the cut on his cheek was fully healed already.

"That's good to hear . . . I didn't like seeing you in so much pain" she said sadly.

"It's ok . . . but how are you? You got really nervous when Nyx mentioned that we could be subjected to torture" he said delicately.

"I'm ok . . . I was just remembering something from my initial training days"

"Are you sure?" he asked softly. He didn't want to push her but he felt like he needed to help however he could.

She slowly nodded as she looked at her feet, purposely avoiding his eyes. He lightly rested his hand on her shoulder with his left making her flinch before he gently turned her face up with his right to look at him. She looked like she was ready to cry and it was breaking his heart to see her like that.

After a few moments she whispered ". . . Please Dante, I don't want to talk about it . . . not now at least"

Dante just stared at her, unsure what he could possibly say to make her feel better. He thought back to when showed her the poem from his mother and decided to do the same thing. He slowly draped his arms around her and brought her into a soft embrace, softly humming again. She lightly snuggled up to him, her face resting against his chest as they sat in silence. He could feel her heart drumming away in her chest, smell the tears that managed to break out regardless of how hard she tried to stop them. He tighten his hold, trying his best to make her feel safe and secure.

After a while he spoke "It's ok . . . I'm right here . . . you can tell me whenever you feel like you can, ok" he said in a whisper.

She softly nodded, her face still buried into his chest as she silently sobbed while he slowly rubbed her back, his chin resting on the top of her head. They stayed there for about thirty minutes until Athena calmed down enough and pulled away from the embrace slowly. She looked up at him, her eyes red from tears, as she wiped at them before speaking softly.

"Thank you . . . I really needed that"

"Any time" he replied in a soft and warm tone. "Are you ready to head back?"

She slowly nodded so he stood up before offering her a hand. She didn't need the help but took it regardless with a faint smile.

"

They left the quiet hill, walking in a content silence to their dorm. Once they arrived Dante offered her some of his cookies. She giggled at his antics but took one regardless before heading to their room to change for bed. He stayed in the kitchen for a while, going through the rest of the cookies with some milk, deep in thought. '_Just what the hell happened to her back in training? She always seems so happy, so upbeat. What . . . or who happened that was so bad that she couldn't even talk about it?' _His blood started to boil as he thought of anyone daring to lay a finger on her, to make her sad, to make her cry. He was so caught up in his thoughts that his hand smashed the cookie plate underneath, the remaining cookies already turned to ash from his semblance momentarily activating.

"Shit" he groaned as he started to pick up the pieces and throwing them in the trash, all the while taking heavy breaths to calm down.

After he finished, he walked into the room. Athena was already in bed but seemed to be waiting for him so he undressed quickly, undoing his uniform and wraps. He didn't really care if she saw him in boxers so he didn't bother going to the bathroom. He usually used the bathroom to change if he wanted to hide his arms but with Athena it was fine. He put on some shorts and hopped into his bed, getting comfy.

"Good night" Athena said as she turned off her lamp, shrouding the room in darkness.

"You too" Dante replied before he closed his eyes, already beginning to nod off. '_I'll keep you safe if it's the last thing I do . . .'_ was his last thought as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

"Is hitting things when you are upset the regular?"

"Sometimes . . . either that or work out. I need to go to the gym regardless"

"I guess that works"

Lucian walked beside Crato, both already changed into workout shorts and t-shirts, heading into the main floor of the gym. It is a large area, almost the size of a full basketball court with every form of weight and bars available for any exercise regimen. Crato bee lined for the bench press as a warm up while Lucian decided to stretch out. Lucian started with a full split while he watched Crato load on the weights. '7_50 lbs. huh . . . not bad, for a human'_ he thought as he observed Crato begin with relative ease. The equipment for hunters such as these were designed to easily hold in excess of 1,000 lbs. so it wasn't too surprising seeing Crato start with 750.

While Crato did his reps, Lucian switched to laying on his stomach and then pushing his body off the ground in a horizontal position with only his fingers touching the floor and maintaining that position for at least three minutes. After the three minutes, Lucian maneuvered into a hand stand and slowly started doing handstand push-ups.

After what most have been about ten minutes or so Lucian heard Crato put down the bar. He lowered his feet down and slowly stood up straight, letting the blood drain from his head as he looked in Crato's direction. Crato finished putting away the weights and walked over to an open floor meant for students to lightly spar in. He gestured for Lucian to come over to which Lucian complied. Once in the open area Crato spoke.

"Do you mind sparring with me a little? The dummies they have here aren't nearly tough enough"

"Sure . . . do you want me to attack back or only block?" Lucian asked.

"You are good to attack if you feel like it" answered Crato.

"Alright, when you are ready . . ." Lucian said.

Crato waited for five seconds before he rushed forward with a right cross. Lucian easily blocked it with his left, stopping the punch in its tracks. Crato continued with a left hook. Lucian sidestepped the strike and came around with his own punch. Crato blocked the hit with his arm, slightly pushed back by the force. They continued a series of exchanges, Crato managing to more or less match Lucian in speed and strength but still falling short in general skill allowing for Lucian to largely dominate the engagements.

After an hour of repeatedly sparring back and forth, both had a light coat of sweat and breathing a little heavier than usual. Lucian had a bloody lip from one strike Crato had managed to push through his defense but Crato was covered in a series of bruises. Even when sparring, Lucian tended to go for any strike that could cause damage so in the end Crato came out as looking defeated though both could have kept fighting for far longer. They both walked over to a bench, Crato grabbing a small towel and draping it over his head.

"Damn . . . when you said Alphas are tough, you weren't kidding" said Crato.

"Hehe . . . Dante and I are just juveniles when compared to our elders. If you want to see an Alpha at the peak, you'll need to find one of 'them' . . ." he replied.

"Them?"

"Yeah, one of the ten leaders of the Alphas. They are the ten Alphas recognized as the strongest currently alive. One from each Alpha breed, each with their own title names representing what they are known for"

Crato whistled "Damn . . . you think we could take one of them?"

Lucian looked at him as if he had grown a new pair of eyes "Unless you want to die, I would suggest dropping that idea right now" he said in a serious tone.

"That bad huh. To think that they even scare you . . . so what names are they given anyway?"

Lucian sighed, slightly irritated with Crato's sudden curiosity but answered nonetheless "They are each given the name of a feared demon from ancient times. The name usually has some relation to just how strong that Alpha is in comparison to the other nine given the demon titles. If you know the history of the name, you can judge which of the ten is strongest" he explained.

"That's pretty cool" Crato said.

"I guess . . ." Lucian as he stood up getting ready to head back to the dorm.

"Headed back?" asked Crato.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'll stay a little longer, do some power squats or something"

"Ok, see yah" Lucian started to walk away but suddenly Crato asked something.

"Hey, what's the name for the ten?"

Lucian glanced at him over his shoulder before responding "They are called the 'Jubanme Kishin' . . . it means the 'ten demon lords' in Japanese" he said in a lone tone before continuing to walk away, leaving Crato alone.

He made his way back to the dorm in silence, heavy in thought about what Nyx had said. He arrived soon enough and stepped in wondering if Dante or Athena were still up. He listened for a moment and noticed the sound of soft breathing coming from their room. '_Already asleep'_ he went into his room and grabbed a change of clothes before stepping into the bathroom. He quickly stripped and stepped into the shower, intentionally leaving the water cold to cool his body.

He leaned his head against the wall with his palm resting on the wall beside him, water pouring over him as he thought back to what happened in their class '_Looks like being a Ghost is more than they initially let on . . . not that I'm really all that surprised. Still, what she said to Dante about not being as mentally tough. Just what did she mean by that? That we will have to either willingly obey or be forced to fall in line . . . she knew I could hear that, it was directed at both of us as faunus. Not the best tactic . . . Alphas naturally have a pride as being independent and strong. They aren't ordered . . . they give orders. To be forced to be a human's tool is unthinkable . . . unbearable. Just what are you playing at Ozpin? You should be well aware of what we are capable of if we decide to attack in earnest . . . you would lose over half your staff to just stop Dante, and that's if I don't help him'_

Lucian was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a faint cracking sound. He looked at his hand resting on the wall. His grey claws were exposed rather than his nails, the ends cracking into the tile wall. In his state of irritation he had failed to notice his claws extending. Now that he thought about it, he could feel the points of his incisors had extended as well while he ran his tong over them. He took a deep breath to calm himself, his claws and teeth reverting back to a human form. He then finished washing and stepped out of the shower, quickly drying and dressing before walking out onto his bed. He felt exhausted and passed out nearly instantly, not bothering to even turn of the lights, sure that Crato would get them when he returned.

* * *

Morning came by rather quietly the next day. Dante slowly got up, slightly groggy but otherwise up and surveyed the room. The window was completely closed with the curtains drawn so the room was more or less completely dark, at least to the human eye anyways. He quietly got out of bed since Athena was soundly asleep. He would have woken her but she looked so peaceful that he couldn't bring himself to wake her. They didn't have any class until later in the afternoon, Oobleck's lecture if Dante remembered correctly. He got changed into his uniform and looked at the clock '9:24 am'. He left a note telling her that he would be getting breakfast and quickly left the room.

Lucian was in the kitchen already dressed for class, looking through the fridge when Dante walked up to him.

"Morning" he said.

"Morning" replied Lucian as he looked away from the fridge.

"Looking for something to cook" he asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not really feeling like it. You heading to the cafeteria?"

"Yes, want to come?"

"Sure"

The pair left the dorm and started heading for the cafeteria chatting along the way.

"Where's Crato? He is normally with you" asked Dante.

"He stayed up really late working out and got back around 4:50 am I think. He's passed out right now. I told him I'll come and wake him up for our combat class later at 12" answered Lucian.

"Ah" was his reply.

They entered the doorway of the cafeteria and looked around. The cafeteria was still bustling with students but the noise died down as some began to notice the 'Slayers' presence. Dante just shrugged off the looks as he walked over to the line for food, the students in front of him started to shuffle around nervously. '_Damn, I guess I got some an image to crack huh' _he thought as he moved along grabbing his breakfast. He picked up a bacon-cheese omelet with some hash browns and a coffee, half-and-half of course. Lucian grabbed waffles with sausage links, toast, scrambled eggs, and a tall glass of juice. They walked over to an empty table, Lucian sitting across from him so that the two could talk while eating.

"Looks like the students are scared of you" said Lucian.

"No shit" Dante replied sarcastically.

"Well . . . what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know yet. It's not exactly on my top priority list right now"

"Better get to it at some point though"

Dante groan, not really excited at the thought of having to fix an image that wasn't even his concern. Lucian just ignored his groan while he dug into his eggs. Dante took a bite of his omelet before he glanced around and spotted three students approaching them. One was a girl wearing brown shades and a beret, one of the guys stood at least seven feet tall with short black hair. The last was an average height, probably around five foot eight with messy brown hair and light brown skin. Dante looked at the boys eyes and noticed that they were white and didn't glance around as he walked '_blind huh, interesting'_ he thought as the students got closer.

One they stood about a meter away the girl removed her shades to look at him with dark brown eyes. He stared back for a moment before she spoke "Dante right?"

"Yes" he replied politely.

"I'm Coco, behind me is Yatsuhashi and Fox"

"Ah, so you guys are the rest team CFVY"

"Yes and I'm pretty sure you know why I need to speak with you, correct?"

Dante sighed as he gestured with his hand for them to sit. They complied, Coco siting to his right and Fox on his left, Yatsuhashi sat next to Lucian. Dante took a swig of his coffee before he started to speak low enough for only those along the table to hear.

"So how much has Velvet told you exactly?" he asked.

"Just that you are taking her to get personally trained by you this weekend. She wouldn't go into further detail even though we persisted" answered Coco.

"Then why do you seem so concerned?"

"Because, we've heard the rumors going around about you. They say you nearly killed some girl and when Xia-Long confronted you, you just slugged her in the gut and continued along. That doesn't exactly get any of us excited at the thought of Velvet being alone with you"

"Heh, I'm glad that you care about her but your worry is misplaced. She will be fine . . . mostly" he added sheepishly.

"Mostly?" Fox snapped, speaking for the first time in an angry tone.

Dante could feel the aggression begin to build from the upperclassmen, somewhat surprised to find no actual killing intent coming from them but more of a protective nature emanating instead. '_Velvet has good friends'_ he thought to himself as he smiled. It seemed that the students misinterpreted his smile as a challenge or threat, their aura's starting to radiate in agitation. Lucian's ears twitched, noticing the change in demeanor but he stayed silently observing. Other students were starting to quiet down, wondering what was going on between the 'Slayers' and one of the upperclassmen's best teams.

"Calm down. I don't mean that she will be hurt or anything, I just mean that my form of training is . . . ruff but I know Velvet can handle it" he said in an even tone.

"What guarantee do we have that she won't be hurt?" asked Yatsuhashi in a gruff voice.

"I can't exactly go into detail right now but I can say this. Velvet's well-being and protection are now very high priorities to me so I can promise you, I won't hurt her" Dante said seriously, looking each of the students in the eyes as he spoke.

They remained silent for some time, contemplating Dante's words before slowly nodding, their aura's calming down as well. After a bit Yatsuhashi spoke "What kind of training are you going to do anyway?"

"Ruby asked the same thing" Dante said absentmindedly before he realized what he said.

"Ruby? Why would Ruby be concerned with Velvet's training?" asked Coco.

Dante groaned, aware that he just dug himself deeper into the issue.

"Because Blake is also coming along" he answered.

The students gave him questioning looks so Dante elaborated. "I offered to train both of them this weekend and I had to deal with a persistent Ruby for a bit. I'm going to give you the same answer as her, its secret and I already told Blake and Velvet they can't talk about it"

"Why so secretive?" asked Coco.

"It's hard to explain . . . can you drop it for now" he asked softly, hopping that they wouldn't pursue further.

It seemed that Coco was going to continue but Yatsuhashi reached across the table placing his hand on her shoulder while shaking his head.

"Ok . . . for now we won't ask questions but I expect a better explanation later on" she said while wagging a finger at Dante.

Dante smiled at her while nodding. They soon stood up and departed without another word. Once they were out of sight Dante looked at Lucian.

"That was interesting" Lucian commented.

"Whatever" he replied in a tired tone. '_This early and I already had to handle some protective teenagers. Would it be that bad if I just beat them up? Nah, then I'll have Nyx on my ass'_ he mused as he finished his coffee and hash browns.

"Hey, can I ask you a quick question?" asked Lucian.

"You just did" Dante replied with a smirk. Lucian gave him a glare before continuing.

"How is Athena?"

"You noticed too?"

Lucian nodded "I also heard you humming to her"

"I think she's ok. I just looks like Nyx's explanation on what can happen to us brought up a bad memory. She relaxed after talking it out with me later on" That was only half true but the fact that Athena had been shaken enough to sob was something private between them.

Lucian gave Dante a knowing smile to which Dante asked "What?"

"Oh nothing, it just seems to me that she is getting very comfortable with you"

"Duh, I'd like to consider myself a close friend of hers so sure she'll be comfortable around me" Dante defended.

"Sure, sure" Lucian said with a smirk as he got up do deposit his empty tray. '_The hell is up with him?' _he thought as he followed suite.

"So, you got class or something?" Dante asked as they left the cafeteria.

"Combat instruction remember? I messaged Crato a bit ago. He should be on his way there now" answered Lucian.

"Oh, ok. I think I'm going back to the dorm then. See yah later" Dante said as he turned towards his dorm.

He walked casually along, not in a hurry of any kind as he enjoyed the relatively quiet halls, occasionally passing a student or professor. The students seemed to still try and give him space while the professors nodded at him as they passed. Whether it was due to the status as 'Slayers' or if they knew about the Ghosts, Dante wasn't sure but he politely returned the gestures until he reached the dorm. He stepped in and noted that the common space was empty before going into his room.

Inside, his bed was still its usual mess while Athena's was neatly done. He could hear the shower on meaning Athena was in there so he simply went and sat on his bed wondering what to do for the remainder of the evening. He glanced at his katana, still in the same location since he arrived at the dorm, untouched and collecting dust as it leaned against his desk. He reached over and picked it up by the sheath carefully avoiding touching the handle. He inspected the sheath, lightly tracing his fingers along some of the engraving. '_Draco Ira . . . a blade named as dragon's wrath, very fitting' _he continued to observe the blade, the faintest smell of blood coming from it. It seemed that regardless of how thoroughly he washed it, the smell was always there, as a reminder of why it had such a name. He was so entrenched in his thoughts that he failed to notice Athena step out of the shower, dressed in most of her school uniform aside from the vest, tie, and shoes.

"Hi Dante" she said sweetly snapping Dante out of it.

"Oh . . . hey" he replied as he looked at her, distracted by her figure without the vest obscuring his vision.

"What's up? You looked like you were really focused on your sword" she commented as she grabbed her tie and started knotting it.

He watched in amusement as she worked the knot, still unable to properly get it to balance in the middle. He chuckled at the sight, earning a pout from her as she kept trying to fix it. Around the fourth time she was successful and looked at him in smug triumph. After her little moment of victory she looked at the blade still resting on his lap.

" . . . You know, I was wondering why you didn't bring your sword with you back during the raid. Can you tell me why?" she asked.

He stayed silent for a moment, unsure of how to explain why he hesitated to use the blade but in the end decided to explain as honestly as he could.

"Well, you see . . . do you think a weapon can retain the aura of a past user?" he asked.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked as she walked over and sat at the foot of his bed.

"I mean . . . you know how Hunter weapons act as conduits for aura so do you think some of that aura can leave residue on the weapon?"

Athena looked deep in thought before answering "I guess it's possible but I don't think I've heard of many cases where a weapon actually maintains the aura of a user plus few weapons are passed down without some form of alteration so even if they did, the changes would in a way erase traces of residue aura"

"That's true in most cases but . . . what if the weapon was made of a special dust or metal"

"Such as?"

_'__I think she might flip if it tell her . . . ah screw it' _he cleared his throat to continue "What are the five rarest dusts that can be obtained?"

"Um, that would be black, white, gold, silver, and bronze but are more commonly known as Onyx dust, Holy dust, Midas dust, Moonlight dust, and Hero dust"

"Right so tell me, what happens if you forge a weapon with these dusts?"

"Well, normally when a weapon is infused wi—"

"No" Dante interrupted "I mean when the dust is used in the forging and smelting process, not coated after the initial weapon is complete"

"Oh . . . well then the weapon absorbs the properties of the dust forming a completely new metal that isn't like any metal formed by regular forging and smelting. If I remember correctly the new metals have different names according to which of the five dusts was used. These metals are also said to be nearly indestructible once cooled and incredibly difficult to forge. The heat required alone has to be over 3000 degrees Fahrenheit to properly bond the dust"

"Yes and if successful the weapons, whether bullets, blades, arrowhead, or armor are capable of withstanding constant use without maintenance in the slightest. Though I doubt anyone would go through the trouble of looking for a fired bullet, even if that bullet can tear through Deathstalker armor like Swiss cheese. Anyway, do you know the names of these metals and the properties they absorb?"

Athena nodded "Yes, Hero dust turns the metal into 'Greek Bronze' so named after its coloration resembling the ancient depicts of warriors and their weapons from Greek mythology. The dust carries the property to bypass any form of aura shielding meaning that to block the metal, so you need another weapon of equal grade or to dodge it. It's similar to grey anti-aura dust but it doesn't need to be restocked and is far stronger than any grey rounds or enhancements"

Dante waited for her to continue.

"Then there is Moonlight dust. When forged into a metal it becomes 'Wolves Bane Iron'. It has that name because the metal leaves injuries that cannot be healed without serious medical attention due to its resemblance to wolves bane poison. Some would say it's the perfect weapon for an assassin. One well-placed cut and the target is history even if they specialize in healing"

". . ."

"Next is the Midas dust. The metal formed is called 'Imperial Ichor' and the metal gains the property to project aura. I've read old testaments saying it is like having a second semblance. If the user is skilled enough with aura, they could turn a spear into a cannon, an arrowhead into a bomb, even project an extended form of the weapon adding reach and maneuverability"

"Go on"

"Then there is Holy dust. It forms a metal known as 'Angel's Light'. Even with that name, the properties given are anything but kind. Weapons made of that metal can break through any form of spell-based guard or manipulation. In a way, you could say it would be Weiss's nemesis since it would mean any of her defenses or attacks with her glyphs would be shrugged off."

"Yeah, they say that armor made of Angel's Light is nearly flawless, guaranteeing an owner's protection wherever the armor may be" added Dante.

"And the last is Onyx dust. If forged into a metal it becomes 'Acheron Steel'. It is a pure black metal that has a very unusual property. While most dusts can activate with the aura of a user and be used in rounds, enhancement, or spells, Onyx dust can funnel the properties of a semblance directly, meaning the weapon can actually 'use a semblance' rather than be used to augment the user's own abilities." She finished.

Dante looked at her gravely before speaking "Exactly, weapons made with Onyx dust regularly have massive quantities of a user's aura funneled in meaning that it's likely that it maintains traces of the past user's aura"

"Ok, but why is that relevant to your sword?" she asked.

"Because . . ." he answered ". . . This blade and sheath are made entirely of Acheron Steel"

"W-What?" she asked as she looked at the sheathed blade in amazement "H-How the hell did you get a blade made completely out of Acheron?! It's hard enough to find quantities of anyone of those dusts to make even a small dagger"

" . . . It belonged to my grandmother. My father gave it to me after I turned sixteen, before I left to travel on my own"

Athena looked at Dante, taking note of his suddenly sad tone "You mean the grandmother you lost in the Faunus War?"

Dante nodded, feeling saddened at the thought of the women he had heard so much about but hadn't gotten to even know.

"I don't know how old it is but this blade was handed down the family down after its owner passed away. My grandmother was its last owner before my father gave it to me"

"Why didn't he keep it then?"

"Because he has his own weapon made of Acheron Steel as well and he trusted that I could master this blade"

"Master? As in technique?"

Dante shook his head "No, I mean to control the blade and the aura that surrounds it"

Athena gave him a confused look so he elaborated "This blade carries aura from my grandmother and the masters before her. If I had to guess, I'd say this blade was only ever drawn in times of war. It literally radiates bloodlust and whenever I draw it, I can't help but kill. That's why I didn't take it with me during the raid . . . I was scared I would lose control and forget to distinguish between foe and ally, that's what I meant by I never draw it unless I intend to kill"

"When was the last time you drew it?" she asked softly.

"Exactly three months, fifteen days, and seven hours" he replied almost mechanically.

"What did you do with it?"

"I was on the borders of Atlas in a small mountain town or more like an outpost, population just over a couple hundred. There was a job offer for the capture or disposal of a local gang troubling the outpost and scaring away investment and possible workers. I decided it would be a good testing ground to see if I could control the blade there . . . but I was wrong"

Dante looked down, his eyes obscured by his hair, as his fist trembled at the memory ". . . I didn't just kill the gang . . ." he stopped, his jaw was clenched with some of his teeth showing.

"What happened?" she asked in an even voice.

Dante didn't look up as he responded "My vision was red, I could smell every drop of blood around me, hear people's hearts as I ended them, cutting down anything that crossed my path. When I finally regained control of myself, the outpost was in ruins, the streets were littered with corpses. I . . . I . . ." he couldn't finish. The memory was too much, faces contorted in pain and horror flashed before his eyes as his breathing started to feel labored.

* * *

It was late, around 1 am and a strong thunderstorm was passing by drowning out most sounded with heavy rainfall. He watched as they tried to escape him, but it was pointless. He caught up to them effortlessly, mercilessly cutting them down like livestock as their blood mixed with the mud and rain around him. He didn't know why he was cutting them down, he had already finished off the gang, so why did he go after anyone he saw now? He didn't care why, he could feel the thirst running through him, the desire to feel Draco Ira carve effortlessly through flesh and bone.

A man ran at him, an axe raised in his hands, but Dante just smirked at him. Before the man could react Dante surged forward and drove his left hand into his chest. Dante could feel his heart beat in between his claws before he closed his grip, crushing the heart as well. The man's eyes fogged over as he dropped the axe, blood trickling out of his mouth, before he dropped. Dante continued prowling the muddy paths for anything else alive. The rain was interfering with his nose and ears but his eyes could still pick out any aura around him, even through walls up to a foot thick.

He noticed one aura radiating from a small cabin. He tore open the thick wood door with ease, pulling the door clean off its bolts, as he walked into the small space. He women appeared to his left lunging at him with a steak knife. He caught her wrist and instantly closed his grip, turning her bones into splinters as she screamed in agony. He lifted her hand up so they were eye level. He locked eyes with her for a moment, watching as pain was replaced by absolute terror, before looking at her throat. He suddenly felt hungry as he looked it, her heart beat like a drum to his ears. He didn't think twice as he opened his jaw and clamped down on her throat, his fangs mincing through the flesh with cruel ease, as the taste of her blood filled his mouth.

She struggled in vain as his jaw closed around her windpipe, slowly suffocating her. After she went limp Dante finished closing his jaw before violently pulling away, tearing her throat open, and a piece of flesh between his teeth. He opened his mouth slightly as he tilted his head up and swallowed the piece whole as he savored the taste. He then tossed the corpse aside as he left the cabin, searching for more prey. He wasn't going to allow anything to escape him.

He then woke up the next morning in the town square, surrounded by body parts and pools of blood. His blade was stabbed into a stone tile beside him, the sheath resting against it. He looked down into a muddy puddle and saw his reflection. His hair was matted with blood and gore, his eyes were back to normal but the lower part of his jaw and cheeks were also covered in blood. He looked around in a daze, parts of the previous night hazy in his mind as his skull thumbed from a massive headache, as he searched for anyone. He walked around the small town, calling out to see if anyone would respond but no one did. As he returned to the square after searching every building, the full realization of what he had done hit him like a truck, as his knees buckled under him. He felt sick, ready to puke, as people's faces flashed before his eyes, their dying screams ringing in his ears.

After that night, Dante had cried for the first time in nearly a year, unrelenting and full of grief and disgust. He was alone, in a town turned mass grave, surrounded by bodies as he cried on his knees in the middle of the town square for hours until he couldn't cry any more. After not moving for a full day and night he forced himself to gather every corpse and burned them all in one large pyre, the buildings set ablaze as well. Even after everything was finished, he still couldn't bring himself to leave the blade there, deserted in the remnants of the outpost.

* * *

He didn't know why but he couldn't seem to hide how he felt in front of Athena. She is now the only living soul that knows about the outpost, a secret he had thought he would take to his grave.

He stayed looking down, ashamed and disgusted with himself more than ever, feeling that he couldn't possibly face her now. With every minute of silence passing Dante felt like someone was slowly strangling him. He was sure that Athena now saw him for the monster that he was, that she would want him to get away from her as soon as possible and he couldn't blame her in the slightest, yet what happened next shocked him.

Athena cupped his cheek with her hand, softly lifting his face so that they looked eye to eye. Her eyes were incredibly sad yet they were also filled with warmth. He was about to speak but she brought a finger to his lips with her other hand, silencing him completely.

"Dante . . ." she said softly "I can't say I understand how you feel but that doesn't mean that I won't try to. You call yourself a monster but then you never notice the times you protect and care for others. You gave Ruby a shoulder to cry on when she didn't know what to do, saved my life, made Velvet stand up for herself, gave Blake someone she could trust in, and then made me feel safe after what happened in class even though you were still in pain."

". . ."

"You need to start going easier on yourself Dante. I can tell you've had to deal with so much pain that you don't even realize you are hurting any more. Well I'm telling you now, it's ok to let your emotions flow from time to time. I know you feel guilty but each of us at one point or another has had to kill someone innocent. I've seen people who have done similar things and not care, say that the lives were worthless but you do care. You regret what you did even now and that's not something many can do"

"But . . . how can I possibly forgive myself . . . I've taken so many lives that didn't need to die" he said in a shaky voice.

Even if he did cry, felt pain, or was hurt, he never made a sound. He didn't know when it had happened but he had taught himself to suffer in silence, to never bother others with his troubles, even if they ate away at him from the inside.

"Then if you can't forgive yourself, at least accept it for what happened and remember it. Remember the pain and the lesson you learned from it so that you won't make that mistake in the future" Athena answered softly, her hand brushing away his hair.

Dante looked at Athena, warmth running through her hand into his face. He took a deep breath, pulling his emotions back under control. He then gave her a faint smile as he closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, again finding comfort in the contact. He stayed like that for a while until he felt Athena lean closer. He didn't move as he felt her plant a soft kiss on his exposed cheek, a sudden burning sensation following the brief contact.

He opened his eyes to see her lightly blushing while looking at him, her hand still cupping his other cheek, her face just a few inches from his. After a moment she breaks the eye contact removing her hand as well. He immediately misses it but knew why she broke off '_I'm still with Amber' _he thought sadly. He wanted to be able to hold Athena close without the thought of embarrassing her or making her feel bad yet at the same time felt guilty for wanting her even though he has someone.

After a moment of awkward silence Athena looked at him again, her blush gone and her expression was serious.

"Dante, you said the blade contains the bloodlust right?"

"Yes" he replied.

"Then can I do something?" she asked cautiously.

He noticed she was eyeing the blade but nodded anyways. She slowly turned to face him directly and grabbed the sheath with both hands, just below the edge of the handle. She flared her aura, a familiar dark blue hue surrounding her frame, as crystal began to form around the sheath and handle. After a minute or so she stopped flaring her aura. The section connecting the handle to the sheath was covered in a thick layer of crystal, effectively sealing the blade. She then got off his bed and placed the sheathed blade under her bed, out of sight.

She stood up before looking at him, a familiar warm smile greeting him. "If you don't think you are ready to control such a weapon then it's going to stay there until you are"

He stood up and walked up to her, enveloping her in a hug which she returned, before speaking softly "Thank you"

"You're welcome" she replied warmly as she snuggled into the embrace.

Dante started to chuckle, feeling much better after telling Athena everything he had. After a few moments he slowly broke the hug and looked at her with his own smile.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked.

"No, why?" she replied.

"Well then, what would you like for brunch?"

"I don't know. I was just going to see what we had in the kitchen and make myself something quick"

"No, no. You tell me what you want and I'll make it" he said with a cheeky grin.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yep, anything you want. I'll run to Vale for ingredients if I have to" he replied. He was feeling happy and wanted to thank Athena any way he could. She could have asked for just about anything at that moment and he would have done it in a heartbeat.

She tapped her chin with her index finger for a moment before looking at him with her own grin. "Honey mustard spiced chicken with garlic dressed baked potatoes, carrots, and broccoli?" she asked.

"Done"

* * *

**Author's Rant: Oh that did it! Just what does this development mean for Dante? What happened to Athena in the past? Why is Lucian suddenly so agitated? I have no idea . . . or maybe i do (hehehe) Don't worry Dante . . . you'll get to do good on your promise in time.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Any comments (constructive please), ideas, opinions are welcome. I would especially like female commentary. I find Athena the most challenging to write and any incite as to how a girl would react to certain situations could help me make her more organic and natural, Thank You. Review~Favorite~Follow! **


	18. Bloody Night

**Author's Note: About time we got some action and some much deserved attention for some characters. I will give no spoilers so . . . Enjoy!**

**10k words baby!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

"You know what? I think I like Oobleck the most out of the professors I've seen here"

"Why is that?" asked Blake.

"Because even though most of the students don't pay as much attention as they should he still stays dedicated to teaching them the past and how it still affects them. I think more teachers should be like him rather Port for example" Dante explained.

After Oobleck's lecture team RWBY had decided to tag along with Dante and Athena since classes were done for the day.

"Huh, I didn't think about it like that" commented Yang.

"You must really like history then" said Ruby.

"Not particularly but I find it interesting" replied Dante.

"So where are you headed, if you don't mind me asking" said Weiss.

"We are heading to the armory" answered Athena.

"Why?" asked Ruby.

"Dante needs weapons since his blade is under . . . maintenance" she lied. She knew Dante wouldn't want her to go into detail about why he couldn't use Draco Ira for now so a white lie was the best option.

"Oh, so what are you going to get?" asked Ruby.

Dante looked up for a moment thinking about it before he looked back at her. "Probably a similar blade or pair and also some kind of range weapon"

"Range weapon? Like what?" asked Yang.

"Not sure yet. I usually prefer to be in close combat so a medium caliber gun wouldn't really work plus I already have a P320 9mm so I don't need a hand gun" he answered meaning the guns given to them as Ghosts.

"I've been meaning to ask, why don't any of the Slayers used guns? All of you have some form of close combat weapon or fight unarmed" asked Blake.

"That's because guns tend to have too many liabilities. Ammo, misfire, noise, friendly fire, and maintenance all take too much time" explained Athena.

"Huh" was all Blake had to say about that. They kept casually chatting as they made their way to the armory. They soon arrived into the garage like building. It is a two story brick and stone building near the east edge of the campus. The first floor consisted of mostly workshops and small forges for students to bring their own weapons for any maintenance work they may need. The walls were covered with tools of every kind while shelves lined the spaces between tables loaded with all manner of oils, bolts, screws, and clothes used to clean the weapons. The air was hot from the forges, the smell of burning coal, tar, and sweat saturated the atmosphere.

Athena didn't mind much, she was used to working in these shops to keep up her whip, Ruby, and Yang didn't seem too bothered either but Weiss and Blake both twitched their noses in irritation. Weiss probably wasn't used to being in workshops since she most likely always had servant perform repairs on her rapier and Blake had a sensitive faunus nose. Dante on the other hand was used to far worse smells considering his profession as an assassin so a smelly garage wasn't much for him.

They walked to the back of the garage where the head smith oversees the usage of the tools and helps students if they need it. She was seated at her desk-like table, a rather large women with dirty blonde hair tied into a pony tail, well-muscled arms and shoulders from constantly lifting heavy metals and hammering at the forges. Her hands were also large and calloused, a testament to her experience. Even with her appearance being rather crude, she looked rather pretty with bright green eyes that showed kindness. She stood up as she noticed them approach and offered Dante a hand which he took with a firm shake.

"Hello there and welcome to my shop. I'm Thaleia, head smith and overseer of this humble abode" she said.

"Thanks for the welcome, I'm Dante" he replied.

"Oh, a Slayer huh, now that's a pleasure. Who are the lovely ladies behind you?" she asked.

"I'm Athena, a Slayer as well" said Athena as she also shook Thaleia's hand. "These are our mentees, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss" The girls each said their hellos before Thaleia turned to Dante again.

"So how can I help you? Need to work on something?" she asked.

"Actually no, I need to get some new weapons" he answered.

"Oh, then you'll want to see what we have upstairs. Let me get you my apprentice" she said as she walked to a backroom "Brick, I got someone for you" she said before she walked back over to them. After a moment another dirty blonde appeared from the room. He was a large man, at least three inches taller than Dante with blue eyes and a light complexion, his hair was cut short in a military fashion. He walked up to Dante and shook his hand as well, looking just as friendly as Thaleia though he looked about Dante's age maybe a few years older.

"Yo, names Brick" he said.

"Dante" Dante replied.

"He needs some new weapons so take him upstairs and see if there is anything he might like" instructed Thaleia.

Brick nodded before turning and heading for a set of stairs further back. They followed behind him up the stairs and walked out onto the top floor. Unlike downstairs this floor didn't have any forges or tools. Instead the walls were lined with a variety of guns, swords, lances, and shields. There were also multiple display tables lined with ammo of all sorts and smaller knives. There were some shelves with holsters, straps, and different leather or Kevlar garments. Dante went over to inspect some swords with Brick while Athena looked over some of the smaller caliber guns and the rest of team RWBY spread out observing whatever caught their interest.

Some of the guns were getting her attention. She didn't mind the P320 supplied to them but she was sure a slightly higher caliber gun would be more useful, granted she would need a silencer. She scanned over the displayed guns until a certain one caught her attention. It was a Dan Wesson M1911, the handle was black with a silver finish along the barrel and top. She picked it up with her right hand to test the balance. It was relatively heavy compared to the P320 but not uncomfortable and actually fit her hand quite well. She took out the clip and inspected the caliber _'.45 ACP huh. High enough to cause damage even if the target has aura. I wonder if Brick takes custom orders?'_

She turned to look at Brick and Dante next to the swords. Dante was holding a pair of dual machetes, designed in a Bowie style and just about reaching two feet in total, handle included. The blades were both silver with a black coloration along the cutting edge. Athena walked over, watching Dante twirl the blades around with skill, testing the balance and weight. Athena stopped about a meter away, waiting for Dante to finish.

After a moment he stopped and looked at her with a grin. "So Athena, what do you think?" he said as he held the blades up.

"They look pretty cool, are you going to get them?" she asked as she inspected the blades.

"Maybe, they are made out of condensed iridium rather than steel and heavy for their size but I think that will help prevent them from breaking and the edges are perfect" he replied.

"How heavy?" she asked as she stuck out her left to see for herself.

Dante placed one in her hand and let go. Athena had to stop herself from dropping her arm, not expecting the sudden weight. '_The hell!? A blade this size shouldn't weigh more than 3 lbs. His katana didn't feel like it weighed more than 5 lbs. sheath and all. This thing has to be at least 15 lbs. and he was waving them around as if nothing. Ok, granted he has Alpha strength but still . . . this weight can't be practical and he wants two of them!' _

Athena looked at him incredulously as she handed back the overweight blade.

"Too heavy?" he asked as he took it and placed both machetes back into their sheaths, a clip going over the handle to make sure they stay put. He then attached the sheaths to some form of belt in an X fashion with the handles pointing down. He put on the belt slightly above his hips, the crossed blades resting on his lower back.

He looked at Brick "Yeah, I'll take these. The weight doesn't bother me at all and they are masterfully balanced"

"Alright. Do you want me to add anything custom to them?" asked Brick.

"Nah, it's ok" replied Dante.

"Fine then. Whenever you need maintenance on those let me know. I'll handle it in a jiffy"

"Thank you"

Before the two could continue on with whatever they were going to talk about Athena spoke up.

"Hey Brick, I had a quick question for you about this gun" she said as she lifted up the M1911.

"Sure, what do you need?" asked Brick as he eyed the gun.

"I was wondering if this can be fitted with a silencer?" she asked.

"This M1911 . . ." he said as he took the gun and inspected it ". . . is already modified for silencer capabilities. It's made of carbon fiber and a dust infused alloy so rust won't be a problem and it should be able to handle even red dust rounds"

"Great, then I'll take it and four magazines of 0.45 ACP rounds please" said Athena.

"Standard rounds or dust?" asked Brick as he walked over to a shelf with different rounds stacked in it.

"Standard will be fine for now" she said.

"Ok then" he said before tossing her a small pouch with four ammo magazines in it. He then handed her the gun back with another magazine loaded in and a gun holster. "Each mag holds ten rounds just so you know, the kick is substantial but I'm sure you can handle it. Let me know whenever you need more"

"Ok, thank you" Athena replied before she looked at Dante. He was watching patiently for Athena to finish before speaking.

"Now that we got that handled, I was wondering about the range weapons you have available"

"What kind of range are you talking? Are you going to be in the middle of the fight or overseeing it from far?" asked Brick

"At least over 100 meters away, else I'll just stick to these two babies" replied Dante as he patted the blades.

"Ok then, follow me" said Brick as he lead them to the far end of the floor. He walked up to a large closed off section, a steel mesh cage with a lock keeping the contents hidden away. Brick pulled out a rather large key from his back pocket and opened the lock, allowing them to enter. On the wall as an assortment of sniper rifles, some of which Athena couldn't even recognize. Once the three were in Brick closed the gate behind them so no one would interrupt them.

Athena looked over some of the guns, noting their size and bulk and comparing it to her needs. Her gaze feel over one rifle that she did recognize. It was a Savage 110, a bolt action, high impact rifle capable of firing accurately up to 1,500 meters. She didn't recognize the scope since it looked custom but she picked it up anyways to test the weight. It was around 15 lbs. and the stock fit well. She turned around to look at Brick and asked "Hey Brick, what's this scope?"

Brick looked at the rifle and scope for a moment before answering "That is a custom designed Vampire 3X Core IIT scope. Capable of using standard sight and night vision, it's also shock resistant and can magnify up to 25x meaning you can accurately see up to around 1,750 meters" he explained.

"Really!? I thought Vampire scopes are only allowed for military use?" she asked in disbelief.

"I may have gotten ahold of some blueprints and built it myself" he answered sheepishly.

"That's very impressive" Dante commented as he approached them to look at the gun.

"Thanks" was all Brick said.

"So what caliber is that gun?" asked Dante as he continued to study the rifle.

"That would be a 0.338 Lapua Magnum" answered Brick.

'_Nice, a specialized anti-personal round that packs a punch and is guaranteed to cause damage even with aura' _thought Athena.

"One more question. Can it be silenced?" she asked.

Brick smirked as he responded "Yes it can. How many magazines do you want?"

"Three will do" she answered

"Right away" Brick said as he opened up a cabinet full of ammo. In a minute or so he brought out a pouch with three magazines and a black leather strap. He handed her the pouch before taking the rifle and attaching the strap to it before handing it back.

"This should make it easier to carry, oh and the barrel can be compacted in itself for better storage" said Brick.

"Thank you" she replied.

She put the rifle over her shoulder before looking at Dante. He seemed to be studying some odd looking contraption on the wall. It looked like a large knuckle buster with an odd guard obscuring the knuckle from sight with two bladed spikes each measuring two and a half feet long pointing to the user's body. Dante picked it up with his left hand, his grip closing within the circular space that seemed to protect his wrist along with the guard in the front. He twisted his wrist around with the strange knuckle buster, the spikes occasionally tapping his bicep.

"Hey Brick, what is this?" asked Dante as he fully extended his arm to get a proper view of the contraption.

Brick looked at him for a moment before replying "Snap your arm forward as if you were throwing a punch and jerk it back just as quick, that will tell you"

Dante looked at him, perplexed by what he meant but did as instructed. He jabbed forward before pulling back. With the sudden force, a click popped out of the buster before the spikes snapped forward at each end as a metal string appeared out of the exterior of the circle guard, pulled taut by the ends of the spikes forming a five and a half foot bow.

"Wow" Dante said as he inspected the bow in his hands.

"That, my friend, is the Artemis II, a custom and one of a kind longbow. It's made of a specially enhanced steel alloy meant to employ a draw-weight of nearly 500 lbs. and can fire a full sized ballista bolt up to 500 meters" Brick explained.

"Really!? I've never seen a bow that can manage over 200 lbs." Dante said in awe as he traced his fingers along the string.

"Yep. In fact you can't fire any regular arrows with that thing since they tend to shatter from the force. Only iron or steel staff arrows will do so actual field work can be difficult if you don't carry around a large set of arrows, not to mention pulling that sort of weight constantly would tire out any regular hunter"

"What about arrows made from Nevermore feathers or carved out of Ursa spikes?" asked Dante as he seemed to effortlessly pull the string back as if preparing to fire off an arrow.

Brick gawked at Dante for a moment before tapped his chin in thought to answer Dante "Sure, those would definitely be able to take the force but who would go through the trouble of collecting the materials?"

"I could do it" Dante responded with a shrug as he slowly allowed the string to retract before letting go of the string.

"All right then, so you are taking the bow then?" asked Brick.

Dante nodded as he searched the handle until he found a small trigger at the top, unlocking the bow and shifting it back to a knuckle buster. Brick went back to the cabinet from earlier and brought out a quiver loaded with about thirty arrows. He pulled one out to show to Dante. It was entirely black, about three feet long, with an arrowhead that looked like a drill tip.

"Just a warning, never use that bow for practice against a regular person. Each of these arrows weights about 25 ounces and when fired by that bow, has the force equivalent to firing of a rifle with a 0.50 caliber BMG round . . . you will kill if you hit center mass of any target short of a Goliath, ok?"

"Got it" Dante replied as he took the quiver and slung it over his shoulder along with the compacted bow by hooking it to the quiver as well.

With all their gear collected, the three walked out of the closed of section to find four very curious teens waiting for them just outside. Ruby spotted the rifle over Athena's shoulder and immediately broke into a frenzy of questions.

"No way! Athena is that a Savage 110!? What caliber is it? Is it semi-auto or bolt action? Can I see it pleeaasssee!?"

"Easy Ruby" Athena responded with raised hands to calm the jumping fifteen year old.

She removed the gun from her shoulder and handed it to Ruby for her to inspect as she answered her questions, the other girls surrounding her to get a better view of the gun as well.

"Yes, it is a Savage, its bolt action, and it fires 0.338 Lapua Magnum rounds"

Ruby and Yang got wide eyed at the mention of the rounds. Weiss and Blake on the other hand didn't seem to understand why it mattered.

"Why the faces?" asked Weiss as she looked at Ruby in confusion.

"Because . . ." Dante explained ". . . 0.338 LM rounds are highly specialized anti-personal rounds capable of tearing through even aura"

Weiss looked shocked at this revelation but didn't persist as to why Athena would need such rounds. Good thing she isn't aware the Slayers mainly hunt other people, not Grimm.

"What about you Dante, what did you get?" asked Blake as she pointed at the quiver popping slightly above his shoulder.

"Just a bow and some machetes" he answered as he gestured to the blades sheathed to his lower back.

"Interesting choice" Blake commented.

"That will do the job, that's all that matters" continued Dante before he turned to Brick, who was quietly watching all of them.

"So I think we will be headed out now" he said as he shook hands with Brick. "Thanks for the weapons"

"No problem, let me know if you need anything else" Brick replied with a hearty grin.

Athena shook his hand as well before the group walked back down to the main floor and saying their goodbyes to Thaleia and leaving the armory.

As they walked away Ruby piped up "So what are we going to do now?"

"Well, I need to put away these weapons back at the dorm, then I was planning on eating" answered Dante.

"That sounds like a plan" added Yang.

"Then we will go ahead to the cafeteria and find a clear table, agreed?" asked Weiss.

The others nodded their heads and soon the girls spit off from the Slayers, each heading to their respective destinations.

"So, when are we going to get to test out our new toys?" asked Athena.

Dante chuckled at her comment making her look at him in question.

"I don't know, I guess you'll have to test your toys in your private time" he said with a shit-eating grin.

Athena took a moment to register what he was insinuating before smacking him hard across the back of the head, a blush burning her cheeks "Idiot!"

His grin persisted as he suddenly dashed forward ahead of her. '_Oh no you don't! You are going to pay Dante!'_ she thought as she chased after him, already planning on how to make him suffer.

* * *

"So why the new gun? Wasn't the P320 enough?"

"No, the caliber was too small for opponents who will probably use aura. Even if the rounds are grey anti-aura, the user's bodies are stronger than regular people so unless you hit a vital, the target will probably put up a fight"

"I see. Then what about you Dante? I didn't know your katana had some damages and you needed it replaced"

"Yeah, I though it was a scratch but a better inspection showed me otherwise. It's ok, I'm just as good with dual weapons as I am with a single blade so they won't bother me at all"

"I still think the weight you went with is a little ridiculous, I mean, I consider myself strong but even then I wouldn't exactly want to lug around two short machetes with that much weight for so little reach"

"Oh please, you know reach isn't everything when it comes to close combat and with the added weight, the blows can break a guard easily"

"Fair enough"

Crato watched the entire scene in irritation. Even after he had apologized to Dante, both him and Athena had still tried to keep a distance. Then whatever happened that night made the two nearly inseparable. They had barely even said hi when they got back from their dinner with team RWBY and didn't really seem to want to tell him about their new weapons. They sat on the sofa, Dante messing around with the machetes while Athena repeatedly took her M1911 apart to check for any loose parts. When Lucian arrived though, they were far more welcoming and now sat around together explaining their new toys to him while Crato watched from the dinning table, chewing on some stale crackers.

It was around 9:50 pm now, and the team didn't have any other plans for the night so they were probably going to stay as they are for the rest of the night until they decide to sleep. Crato was just about finished with his crackers when suddenly the lights went out, everyone falling quiet as well.

Crato looked around waiting for his eyes to adjust but could only see vague shapes since even with the open windows, the night was overcast.

"Did someone trip a fuse or something?" asked Athena calmly from the sofa.

"Unlikely" responded Lucian just as calmly.

Crato focused his eyesight as he watched Dante, judging from the height, stand up and walk into his room for a moment before returning with something in his hands.

"Something is wrong . . ." he said "The scrolls aren't working either"

"Really?" asked Crato. '_Why would the scrolls be out during a power outage?' _He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his own scroll. He pressed the activation button along the side but the scroll remained inactive.

Crato was about to speak when a knocking at the door caught everyone's attention. Crato turned to the door, unsure as to who it might have been but stood up to open it anyway. Once he opened it, he made out two figures and could vaguely see one had whitish eyes.

"Thantos?" he asked.

"And Havasu" he responded as Crato allowed them in. Once inside he closed the door behind them and approached the sofa where everyone seemed to be gathering.

"Hey, are your scrolls working?" asked Dante.

"Nope, so yours aren't either?" replied Havasu.

"Looks like it" answered Dante.

"Does anyone else find this particularly strange?" asked Athena.

"What do you mean?" asked Crato.

"The lights go out, our scrolls suddenly don't work, and it's all during an overcast night with almost zero visibility for a human eye. That can't all be coincidence" she replied.

Crato was about to say she might be exaggerating when suddenly a sensation overtook him. It was like a series of pressured stings were tracing along his spin and back of the head, each prick was hot and almost felt malignant, the feeling putting him immediately on the defensive. '_There's no mistake . . . this is killing intent, and lots of it by the pressure of it'_

Even in this darkness, he could tell the others felt it as well, all going silent and rigid.

After a moment of silence Havasu spoke up "Can anyone tell how many attackers there are?"

"Hard to tell but at least around twenty, if not more" answered Lucian.

"Then lets head out and deal with them" answered Dante as he sheathed his machetes, turning towards the door.

"Wait" Athena said as she grabbed his arm to stop him.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

"We can't deal with them the same way we would on a mission. We aren't under any orders right now so elimination shouldn't be our main objective" she explained.

"Then what should be our objective?" Dante asked calmly.

"We are Beacon students as well and mentors at that. We should prioritize the safety of the students before we take out the intruders" she continued.

"What!?" Crato nearly shouted "You want us to babysit before doing our jobs as killers!?"

"We aren't just killers anymore Crato, we have responsibilities now" Athena replied in an irritated tone.

Crato huffed in anger. He was tired of having to deal with Dante or Athena's sudden lectures. He couldn't make a joke, they didn't take him seriously when something was important or completely blew him off and now she was trying to tell him how to do something he already did well on his own.

"What do you think we should do then?" asked Thantos.

Athena looked at him for a moment before responding "If their numbers are in the dozens, then we should each split responsibilities and objectives. Dante and Lucian, you should patrol through the dorms for any intruders. The dorms don't have any outside light sources so it will be almost absolute darkness but that won't be a problem for you two. Havasu, I want you to head for the West end of the campus. There you should be able to find the main power breakers, see if you can restore power. Crato, you head to the center of the campus around the main lecture halls where it's open and you can fight without worrying about destroying the buildings and try to make noise to attract more of the attackers. Thantos yo—"

"Wait, team CFVY tends to have late sparring sessions in the arena. They might still be there" Thantos interjected.

"Then go and make sure they are safe, after start sweeping the neighboring buildings for any intruders" Athena finished.

"What about you?" asked Havasu.

"I'll go to the north Observatory tower with my sniper. Brick already supplied me with enough ammo and a silencer plus the vampire sight. I'll pick off any stragglers as they go between buildings or try to retreat" she answered.

"Ok, sounds like a plan" Dante agreed.

Everyone else nodded but Crato. He felt that Athena was purposely putting him in the objective with the least importance, just a bait while everyone else had a clear purpose. What made it worst of all was the fact that it was Athena giving the orders as if she was the team leader. If she couldn't even match him in a tested fight, then what right did she have to give orders? Even if his relationship with Dante was rocky, Dante had proved himself the stronger one and more adept to command yet he wasn't resisting Athena's orders in the slightest. '_Some leader . . . already playing favorites'_ he thought bitterly as he walked into his room and grabbed his Gungnir halves.

He walked back out to see that Havasu and Thantos had already left to get their weapons. Lucian seemed to be waiting for Dante who soon reappeared with his P320 holstered to his left thigh, the ends of his machetes barely visible from his lower back. Athena also had her Savage strapped over her shoulder and her M1911 strapped to her hip.

With everyone ready Dante and Athena started to walk out followed by Lucian and then Crato. Once outside the dorm, Dante gave the group a quick nod before dashing off down the hall towards the window at the end, luckily it was already open, and jumping out into the night. Athena then starting running the opposite way, heading for the north exit as she made her way to the Observatory tower. Lucian started to walk away as well but stopped and glanced back at Crato.

"Are you ok?" he asked in an even tone, presenting polite curiosity rather than concern.

"Peachy" Crato lied with a forced grin. Crato couldn't tell if Lucian was convinced or not do to the shadows obscuring the majority of his facial features but he didn't persist and resumed walking away.

Crato then turned and mirrored Dante's action of jumping out the window to the ground below. He landed with a thud and sprinted off towards the main lecture halls. As he ran he kept his senses open, trying to see if he could narrow down the sources of killing intent or sense any aura near him. He could only see shapes and outlines at best in this darkness but that was enough for him. He had plenty of experience fighting in less than ideal conditions and darkness wasn't a handicap in the slightest, unless his opponent is a faunus, in which case he would have to finish the fight quickly or risk having his inferior eyesight exploited.

He soon passed the door leading into Port's lecture room, the memories of that little event crossing his mind before he shoved them away. '_Not the time to get distracted'_ he thought as he continued on. As he was about to turn a corner, he felt four presences approaching. He halted just before the edge of the hall, his breathing low and slow as he waited for them to get closer. His hand rested on the handle of one of his blades strapped to his back, his senses heightened as he prepared for what would follow. The first person crossed his line of sight and Crato instantly drew his blade in a downward swing but as he swung he felt a force push his blade slightly to the left, effectively missing the targeted head by barely an inch.

His blade continued on its track, gouging out the stone tile underneath with cruel ease as he heard two yelps and a girlish squeal come from his opponents. He looked up as he was about to bring the blade back for a second pass but then noticed his target's appearance for the first time. It was a female with scarlet locks and a slightly frightened look in her green eyes.

In that instant he registered something else. There wasn't any killing intent coming from them. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the others and for the first time noting that they were dressed in student uniforms.

He looked at the girl in front of him, now realizing who they were "Team JNPR, what are you doing here?" he asked in a forced angry tone, trying to hide his relief that he hadn't accidentally killed them. He was sure that if it hadn't been Pyrrha, any other student wouldn't have reacted in time to dodge his strike and would have been headless by now. '_Damn! I was so focused on killing that I almost hurt one of my mentees'_

"W-We were hungry so we went to the cafeteria to see if they were open late when the lights suddenly went out" said Pyrrha.

"So we got sort of lost on our way back to the dorm" added Nora.

A shaky Jaune and ever calm Ren nodded from behind her though Jaune seemed to be hiding behind Ren. Crato was sure the squeal had come from him but regardless he was glad that no one had gotten hurt.

"So what are you doing out, if you don't mind me asking?" said Ren.

Crato wasn't sure if he should tell them everything but tried to answer honestly "We detected some intruders on campus. We don't know what their intentions are and we think it has something to do with the power outage so each of us is patrolling around looking for them"

"Is that why you attacked?" asked Pyrrha as she looked at the slash along the floor left from Crato's swing.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't expect any students to be out" he replied sheepishly.

"It's ok" she answered, albeit she still looked a little shaken.

"Alright then, where are your weapons?" he asked.

"In our lockers but without power, we can't open them and our scrolls don't work either" answered Jaune.

Crato sighed in frustration, this is getting more difficult by the minute. "Ok then, follow behind me and don't make noise regardless of what you see or hear, got it?" he said in a serious tone.

The four nodded and Crato started to walk ahead, again making his way to the center of the lecture halls where he was supposed to make noise and attract their attackers.

* * *

"Perfect, just perfect . . . this is the last time I let you convince me to watch a movie rather than study, Ruby"

"Hey! I didn't know the power would go out and the scrolls wouldn't work either" answered Ruby with a pout, though Blake was sure Weiss couldn't see the look.

"Oh you two look adorable when you bicker, what's next a real date?" Yang teased from above Blake in her bonk.

"Shut it Xia-Long!" Weiss snapped at her, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. Too bad for her that she didn't know Blake could see it.

Still, it was rather odd. Everyone had been quietly enjoying their night before the lights suddenly died. Blake had been reading, Yang was watching the recording of some boxing fight, and Ruby had convinced Weiss to watch some comedy movie with her on her scroll. Honestly Blake had thought the two looked rather cute snuggled together in their school uniforms on Weiss's bed but spared them any embarrassment from teasing . . . for now. Now they sat around in near complete darkness, bored and unsure what to do. None of them were particularly sleepy and since the air conditioning had also shut down, the dorm was starting to feel warmer than usual.

As the white and blonde duo continued their bickering with Ruby trying to mediate Blake started feeling an odd sensation at the back of her head. See scratched by reflex but even then the feeling persisted and she started to get the uncanny discomfort associated with being watched. She looked around, her heightened sight and hearing monitoring for any signs as to why she was feelings so uncomfortable. She had felt it before, rarely but during her Fang days she had sometimes engaged dangerous opponents who weren't security robots and had the same sensation wash over her. She had asked what it was but no one ever gave her a clear explanation to what it was, saying that she would find out once she gained experience fighting actual hunters though Blake had never wanted to have to face living opponents and actually take a life.

After a moment or so the others quieted down, probably becoming aware of the odd pressure as well. Yang slowly lowered herself from her bunk while Blake, Weiss, and Ruby stood up from the beds. Blake then heard several footfalls just outside their door, the sensation growing in pressure with every moment that passed. Blake instinctively reached for her blade over her shoulder only to grasp air. She then remembered that all their weapons were in the lockers and they couldn't retrieve them without their scrolls.

Yang assumed a fighting stance while placing herself in front of Weiss and Ruby, both of whom couldn't do much without their weapons while Blake neared the door, the nails in her left hand extending into black claws. She normally wouldn't use them with others present but with the darkness they wouldn't see them. She stood still as she heard someone on the other side grunt as they tried to open the locked door. The handle shook for a moment before suddenly a snap sounded out, the bolt being broken on the other side.

Blake crouched down, prepared to jump whoever came in but then another series of sounds came from the other side. The four listened intently as heavy thuds were heard along with the occasional sound of wood snapping and something being cut before everything went silent again. They stood absolutely still, not even daring to breath, as the door slowly opened. The moment it opened enough Blake lounged forward, her clawed hand extended but suddenly felt a hand grab her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She was about to throw a punch with her free hand when the person spoke "Easy there"

Blake stopped and actually looked at her captor for a moment and realized it was Dante. She felt herself relax at his presence, suddenly feeling secure with the odd pressure gone as her claws retracted. He released her wrist and walked in, looking around for anything amiss.

"Are all of you ok?" he asked as he turned back to Blake. She noted for the first time that there was blood splatter on his left cheek and in his left hand he was holding one of the machetes he'd acquired from Brick, the end shrouded in dark crimson and dripping on their carpet.

"Dante, what was that?" asked Ruby softly.

Dante sighed as rubbed the back of his head. "There are some intruders on the campus right now and the Slayers mobilized to take them out. I'm not sure what they want but I'll find out soon enough. If you are all ok, then I'm going to head out and clear out any more that may be around"

"Wait, then let us come with you. You might need the backup" Yang interjected.

Dante smirked at her statement as he looked them over. "If you want to come I'll allow it but you have to stay quiet and follow any directions I give you too the letter, got it?"

All four nodded before Dante continued. "Now, do any of you have your weapons?"

"No" answered Weiss and Ruby in unison.

Dante looked them over again before reaching with his right hand to a gun holstered to the outside of his thigh and pulled out a small black handgun.

"Who is the most used to firing a handgun?" he asked.

"Me" Blake replied. He turned to her and gave her the gun, it felt oddly cold and heavy in her hand.

"Just so you know, the gun shouts 9mm rounds and they are grey anti-aura. Peg someone in the chest or head and they will drop so try for gut and appendages if you can but only use it if you really need to otherwise I'll handle it"

Blake nodded at his instructions, her blood running cold at the thought of possibly having to kill someone until Dante rested his hand on her shoulder. He gave her a knowing look, as if he knew exactly what was going through her mind, before walking back out the door. The girls filed behind him into the hall. Blake looked down for a moment and stopped walking, the girls bumping into her since they couldn't see too well, luckily for them. On the floor Blake counted five bodies, the supposed intruders, some with their heads and necks bent at weird angles while one was headless and the last his throat slit open with his hands clutching at his open artery with his eyes staring open at the ceiling.

Blake felt a shiver run down her spine as she realized that the snapping sound had been bones not wood and looked away, hurriedly walking away to keep up with Dante, the gun growing even heavier in her hand. The other's seemed to notice the bodies as well but couldn't see the extent of the damage and continued following along in silence.

* * *

"No wait I surre—" a pointless plea for mercy cut short by a white blade stained red.

He watched as the head rolled, frozen in an expression of terror but he paid it no heed. He kept on moving through the dark halls, a trail of severed bodies behind him as he made his way to the arena hall. '_That's about eight so far, looks like there were more than Lucian guessed'_ He met no more resistance as he arrived at the gates leading into the main arena that Beacon used for lessons and actual competitions. As he entered the large room, he could make out the figures of four people surrounded by at least six other bodies, a few groaning in pain.

He approached slowly, with deliberate pace lest he startle the students who just fought for their lives. Velvet was the first to notice him and happily called out "Thantos!"

The others turned to look at him with strained vision as Velvet ran over to him and stopped about a foot away, beaming up at him with her signature smile. The others soon followed behind, Yatsuhashi and Coco occasionally stumbling into one of the downed attackers though Fox didn't have any trouble at all. He looked them over but it looked like aside from being tired none were hurt. He then looked at the bodies on the ground wondering if he should kill them or leave them as they were. Velvet caught his stare and followed his line of sight.

"They attacked us right after the lights went out. It's almost a miracle we took them all down without getting hurt. They were so quiet I didn't notice them until they were already inside the hall and then just barely managed to take them" she said.

"Yes, they were quite the challenge. If they could fight that well in the dark where I and Velvet have the advantage, I wouldn't want to face them on even ground" added Fox.

"Still, why would they attack us? In fact just who the hell are they?" asked a fatigued Coco. "Would have been easier if we had been outside in the open where I could have used my mini-gun"

"But you would have killed them then" commented Yatsu.

"Maybe that's what needs to be done" said Thantos to no one in particular. The students looked at him, probably with shocked expressions but Thantos couldn't see much aside from the outline of their heads.

He walked past them as he readied his blade to deliver the finishing blows. "Turn away and cover your ears if you must" he said absentmindedly as he placed the blade's tip at the sternum of one groaning bodies. He waited for five seconds before shoving the blade down, a soft 'plop' sounding out as the blade pierced the bone and heart. He removed his blade and proceeded to the next repeating the process until all six were corpses. Once finished he walked back over to team CFVY, all of whom were now eerily quiet.

He knew that they were young and probably hadn't seen a life taken so lightly but now was not the time to be soft. It left a pit in his stomach knowing that what he had just done would be engraved in their memories permanently yet he had to continue. If any of these mystery attackers got away or moved around and ran into other students more lives would be put at risk.

Thantos let out an irked sigh as he walked past them before speaking softly "I know it's rough but you can't stay here like this. Stay close to me for now . . . and be prepared to possibly see more"

The team stayed quiet but started following behind him. They kept moving and soon left the battle hall as they headed for the center of the campus. Thantos planned to meet up with Crato since his original task had been completed. They didn't meet any more intruders as they walked the halls and soon arrived at the center of the campus.

While most would believe that the statue in front of the auditorium was the center, the actual center was a large and open courtyard. It is about as large as a football field with stone pathways winding along the length, multiple trees, a small pond, and a variety of shrubbery covering the area. It was a popular place to relax, have picnics, and catch up with friends but tonight it was a dark and silent oasis, a soft breeze rolling through making the leaves rustle. The clouds had cleared, allowing the shattered moon to shine some light into the peaceful space. It was then that Thantos noticed a figure hunched over a body.

He gestured for his mentees to stay back with his hand as he slowly approached the figure with his blade extended at the ready in his right. He approached until he was about five meters away before the figure raised its head to look at him, the wolf ears at the top of the head swiveling forward to listen to any noise. Thantos let out a held breath as his position relaxed, relieved that it was Lucian and not another intruder he would have to kill in front of the students.

He then turned his attention to the body below him, his blood running cold at the sight. It was a Beacon student, a female deer faunus by the looks of the ears, her eyes were closed in a peaceful expression with her light brown hair framing her face, a slight stain of blood on her lips. Thantos looked lower to see a stab wound right over her heart '_Thank Oum it was a fast kill so she didn't suffer' _he thought bitterly as he drew closer to Lucian. The faunus didn't say a word as he turned back to the fallen student before him, his expression sad yet his eyes seemed to burn with anger. Thantos also noticed that there were splatters of blood along his hair and coat, too much to have come from the girl, meaning that he had met some intruders along the way.

Thantos heard the students behind him approach, Velvet and Coco gasping when she saw the body.

"What is it?" asked Fox in a cautious manner.

"A student was lost" replied Yatsu in a solemn tone.

Thantos didn't bother to turn and see how they were taking it, unsure as to whether he could stand to see anyone of them tearing up, judging from the sounds Velvet and Coco were making.

"Did you know her?" he asked softly without looking back.

Coco answered in a strained voice "Alicia Doer . . . she was in our year . . . a medical specialist . . . and f-friend . . ."

As Coco finished Thantos could hear her choke back sobs, Velvet not doing much better. After a while Thantos heard another group approaching them from his right. He looked to see Crato along with what seemed like team JNPR walking towards them. Crato himself had blood staining his shirt and part of his arm but it didn't look like any of it was his. The team behind him was uncharacteristically quiet, especially the bubbly Nora, as they trailed behind. Once he was close enough Thantos spoke up.

"How many?"

"Three around the lecture halls and two more just past the auditorium gate. I also saw about five bodies just past the statue with holes along the chests or heads, Athena's work I guess" Crato replied.

"I killed eight and finished off another six on the way here so how many have we handled then?" asked Thantos to no one in particular.

"If you got fourteen, Crato got five, and Athena got five, then with my nine I found along the upperclassmen dorms, that makes thirty-three" Lucian said in a dangerously low tone, his rage apparent as his fists clenched.

Crato and team JNPR then looked down at Lucian's feet as well, noticing the girl for the first time. "Shit" Crato said in pissed tone, Jaune stumbling over to a tree and puking while Pyrrha clamped her hand over her mouth and Nora ducked her face into Ren's chest as the boy enveloped her in his arms.

Thantos looked up at the sky, wondering what cruel forces had made this night what it was, yet his only reply was the silence of the shattered moon as it bathed them in a pale light that gave no warmth. After a few moments of silence, another group could be heard approaching from the left. He turned and watched as Dante appeared, team RWBY on heel, as he approached the larger group. He had blood splattered along his left cheek and the machete in his left but otherwise looked clean. Just like the others, team RWBY was silent though Blake seemed to be more alert, a black gun held securely in her hand.

Dante stopped just a meter or two away, looking over the students gathered together before he looked down at the body. His expression remained neutral but Thantos could make out the slightest sadness in his eyes mixed with anger as well, the girls collectively gasping behind him. Yang's eyes turned fury red as she clenched her fists, her gaze nailed to the fallen girl. Blake also looked very angry as her bow laid out flat against her head and her hands trembled around the gun. Ruby turned away, hiding her face in Weiss's shoulder while Weiss herself sealed her eyes shut.

He heard some movement behind him and turned to watch Velvet slowly walk to Dante before she rested her forehead against his chest and started to openly sob. He in turn draped his free arm around her shoulders, firmly embracing her as he rested his chin on her head all the while gently saying 'it's ok, I'm right here'. As he said the words Thantos could see all sadness disappear to be replaced by unrelenting rage, yet his words remained soft and soothing.

It seemed that with one already crying, the others soon followed with Coco also sobbing while Fox tried to comfort her. Pyrrha was on the verge of tears as well, Nora also sobbing into Ren's uniform. Jaune was leaning against a nearby tree, the puking and sight of fallen classmate being too much for him. Even Yatsu had a tear or two streaming down his cheek as he looked up at the moon.

After some time of near silence, Dante spoke up as he removed his head from atop Velvet's head to look at his fellow Slayers.

"Do you guys sense anymore of them?" he asked, his tone even besides the inferno burning in his eyes.

"No, it looks like we got them all or they realized we can sense it very well and started hiding it" answered Thantos.

"I could track them down then" he continued as he slowly lowered his arm from around Velvet.

Velvet then grabbed on to his arm as she looked at him with pleading eyes "Dante, don't leave us . . . please" she said in almost a whisper. Dante looked back at her, his eyes ever so slightly calming down but still angry. After a moment he sighed in defeat, unable to say no to Velvet.

Just then the breeze shifted, Dante suddenly went rigid before he pulled Velvet to his side as his left arm swung his machete up, a spark flashing as something was deflected off the blade and plopped down at his feet. Everyone turned to see it was a small dagger, about six inches long with a serrated edge. Thantos and Crato raised their blades as they took defensive positions while the students backed up to be behind their mentors, Lucian standing before the dead body in a protective stance.

Velvet was standing directly behind Dante, his eyes trained on a tree about fifteen meters away as he drew his second machete in his right.

"Come on out or I'll just come to you and it will hurt that much more" Dante called out, his last words laced with venom.

They waited in silence for a moment before a sick chuckle echoed out through the air, cruel and emotionless. A figure dropped from the tree into the light of the moon draped in a black hood hiding most of the body, the face hidden in shadow.

"Hehe . . . I heard you were a particularly dangerous one but to think you could detect my scent however faint it is and react in time to deflect my throw, in perfect silence and low visibility no less. You really are a monster Argentum or should I call you by that old title you used to carry some years ago . . . what was it again, oh yes, the Silver Demon" a feminine voice spoke from under the hood.

Dante seemed taken aback by the sudden mention of that name, his arms lowering as he stared at the women as the students turned to look at him while the Slayers kept their sights fixed on the intruder.

"W-What does she mean, Dante?" asked Ruby.

"I think you may have me confused with someone else" he said in obvious contempt as he ignored Ruby.

"Don't play coy . . . I know who you are, Demon. You went to **that **hell of an academy full of monsters, was moved up a grade or two because of your skill, and remained the undefeated fighter all the way till graduation. They say that anyone who saw you fight said you looked like a demon straight from Hell, never taking pity or compassion on your opponent, regardless of who they were" she said.

Dante stayed silent, his eyes burning with hate. The figure then turned her attention to Lucian.

"I know who you are as well . . . Marauding Lycan" she continued.

At her statement, Lucian started to growl, a heavy wave of killing intent radiating off him. The students around them began to cower away and rightly so. The killing intent was at least three times stronger than the combined intruders had released when the Slayers first detected them.

"Who sent you?" asked Dante, his tone cold as ice.

"My mistress has some interest in you two and so wanted to confirm you were here" replied the woman.

"Who? The women in red?" asked Dante.

"That pathetic witch? No, though it was convenient the knowledge she procured from your allies turned traitors. You know of them, yes? The man whose throat you tore out and the women your team brought back" she answered.

". . ."

"Now, my time has run out so must be going" she said.

"You actually think I'll let you get away" Dante replied with malice.

"Oh dear me, I'm not foolish enough to think I could possibly take you but I came prepared to escape" she replied as she jumped back while tossing something between Dante and Lucian.

Thantos got one quick glance at it before a sudden flash blinded him followed by a piercing sound raking his ears. It sounded like 100 rusty knives where being dragged over a chalk board. It was so painful that he dropped his blade to cover both his ears. He forced his eyes open to survey the others as the sound continued. Almost all of them had their ears covered, some with their eyes shut as well but Dante, Lucian, Blake, and Velvet were on the floor writhing in agony. '_Shit! Their hearing is too sensitive, we have to stop that sound now!' _he thought as he looked at the device a few meters in front of him. He was about to let go of his ears and grab his dropped sword but then Crato lunged from where he was standing and slammed his fist onto the device, effectively smashing it and creating a crater as the sound abruptly stopped.

With the sudden silence, each student slowly recovered but stood still as they stared at something. Thantos followed their line of sight to see that they were looking at Dante. While in pain he hadn't realized that his eyes had shifted to their dragon form and his fangs were visible as he panted, but they weren't his regular fangs, they were the full inch and a half long incisors meant to mince through meat and shatter armor.

The students fell silent as Dante stood up fully, aware of why they were staring at him. Blake and Velvet looked at him with worry while the rest continued to stare in silence. He looked like he was going to say something but then the lights suddenly came back on, the abrupt change in lighting forcing them to squint. Thantos' scroll rang in his pocket so he fished it out and read a message he got from Havasu.

'Managed to get the power back and took out some device that was jamming our scrolls. I also messaged Ozpin and he wants us in his office ASAP! Also to bring along any casualties or students who saw what happened. The bodies of the attackers will be handled by Mr. Grieves and his staff. Get moving! Athena already messaged me so she knows too.'

Thantos looked up from his message to meet Dante's waiting gaze.

"Ozpin wants us in his office now. We have to bring along any casualties or students who saw. The bodies are already being taken care of" he explained.

Dante nodded before looking back at the students, his eyes still exposed but no longer angry.

"Let's go then" he said as he turned away, Blake and Velvet already close behind him. Lucian carefully picked up the girl's body and started following as well. Thantos picked up his blade and re-sheathed it on his back before looking at the rest of the students, there gazes locked on Dante and Lucian. He exchanged a quick look with Crato, both noting that tonight was going to be a long one.

"Come on then or are you guys going to stay here all night" Cato said as he retrieved his blades and started walking away. That seemed to do it as the students started to follow along. As they walked Ruby broke the silence with the question on all their minds.

" . . . Just what is Dante?"

Thantos looked at her since it seemed the question was directed at him, the other students looking at him intently.

"That you are going to have to ask him" was all he said as he looked forward, already dreading what they would soon have to deal with.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Well . . . shit hit the fan people! **

**How will the mentees take Dante's nature and the apparent past that follows our two favorite Alphas? What will Ozpin say about all this? Will Crato speak up about his regards towards Athena?**

**Just who the hell is this 'mistress'!? (I honestly don't have a clue right now XD)**

**Feedback, commentary, reviews are welcome, even hard criticism on writing style or character representation (be gentle with me senpai)**

**Follow~Fav~Review and see yah next time! **


	19. To Come Together or To Divide

**Author's Note: More drama, more feels. Secrets revealed, haunting past. Just how will everyone come out of this? Read and find out! Enjoy.**

**Thank you to my beta reader: yuvinile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Tap, tap, tap . . .

'_Where the hell are they!? It doesn't take that long to get here, Athena is already here and she had to get down from the Observatory!'_

Havasu kept fidgeting with his bladed staff, wondering how long he would have to sit around in awkward silence with Athena to his right, Ozpin across from them in his chair with the ever present coffee mug, and Glynda standing beside him looking at them with a glare that Havasu swore, should have been able to kill. He wasn't sure why they were getting the look but he chalked it up to being generally upset with the night's proceedings. At least Athena's plan had seemed to go without a hitch. He himself ran into about three attackers on his way to the West end, which he handled easily enough. Most humans don't see well in the dark but Havasu himself grew up a large portion of his life near the wilds and so night time combat was actually welcome to him, especially if he focused his aura into his eyes giving him night vision that was just about matched with faunus vision.

Then at the building housing the main power breakers, he had to dispatch another four intruders. One turned out to be a faunus and gave him some pressure but he managed regardless. The rest of the time had been spent trying to hack into some device that was connected to the computers monitoring the breakers and also simultaneously jamming their scrolls. He had never seen tech like that before and after a few futile attempts finally managed to break the firewall and deactivated the device. Once that was complete he rebooted the breakers and restored power. His scroll also seemed to reactivate on its own after a minute or so and he immediately messaged Ozpin to inform him about the Slayer's actions. Ozpin replied almost instantly and gave him the instructions to gather in his office. Athena also messaged him as well, more of asking for a status report since the power was back. Havasu relayed Ozpin's message to her and then messaged Thantos before he started running for Ozpin's office.

He arrived soon enough and now resumed his current predicament. He didn't dare look away from Ozpin, not wanting to incur some form of response from Glynda. He heard the sound of the door to the office opening and mutter under his breath "Thank Oum . . ." as he turned to see who had arrived, immediately feeling a knot form in his stomach. It was Dante and he had his real eyes revealed. '_That's not good. Something happened if he's like that'_ he thought as he watched Dante approach, Blake and Velvet close behind. Then Lucian appeared carrying a girl, following them appeared Crato and Thantos, then teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY shuffled in, all deathly quiet.

Havasu heard Glynda take a sharp gasp when she saw the girl being carried by Lucian. He looked at the girl more carefully and noticed the stab wound in her chest, his blood starting to boil in anger at the realization that a student had lost their life.

The rest of the Slayers stood beside Havasu and Athena with Lucian still holding the body, each with a solemn face as they waited for Ozpin to speak, the students standing together a few feet away to give them space.

After a moment of tense silence Ozpin finally spoke "It seems a tragedy has befallen us tonight . . ."

". . ."

"Are there any other casualties?"

None of the Slayers said a word.

"Very well . . . I will have Ms. Doer's funeral arrangements handled personally and contact her family. If you would Lucian, please set her down on the table" Ozpin said as he gestured to a barren table at the far right end of his office.

Lucian didn't look like he wanted to set her down there but did so anyways. Once the body was set down he returned to his previous place beside the others.

"Now then, a report if you would?" he asked as he looked at Dante.

"Shortly after the power went out and our scrolls stopped functioning, we detected a strong amount of killing intent on campus. Athena formulated a plan of action and we immediately mobilized to meet the threat. I covered the underclassmen dorms where I encountered five hostiles attempting to break into team RWBY's dorm. I eliminated them and continued on with the team following me. I assumed that others might come for them and so decided they were safer following me. I then moved to the campus center. I didn't meet any more hostiles though I did pass several bodies. Then we met up with the other Slayers and teams"

" . . ."

"From there we encountered one last hostile, but she was different from the rest"

"How so?" asked Ozpin.

"She was a faunus, a snake judging from the lack of scent and her stealth capability. She briefly spoke to us in regards to a 'mistress' that has some interest in me and Lucian"

"So you think that this attack was directed at you two?"

"Not entirely, the hostiles I found in the dorms knew what they were searching for. The women also said that they had acquired information in regards to the files stolen by the traitors, but when I asked if her mistress was the mystery woman Lucian encountered, she commented that she served someone more powerful. She also seemed to know some information personally regarding Lucian and myself"

"Such as?"

"She knew a name I once carried when I was 16 years old suggesting they have extensive knowledge concerning who I was. The same seems to apply to Lucian"

"What would these names be?" asked Ozpin as he leaned forward, his curiosity peaked.

" . . . Silver Demon and Marauding Lycan . . ." Dante answered in a heavy tone.

Once he said the names, Glynda visibly paled while Ozpin's eyes flared, the surprise evident.

Havasu looked between their faces, unsure as to why it was such a big deal. He looked at his fellow Slayers but they seemed just as perplexed as he was. Out of habit he even looked back at the students to see if any of them knew. He caught Velvet and Blake's eyes and mouthed 'Do you know what that means?' hoping that Dante may have told them something but they both shrugged.

Havasu turned back as Ozpin cleared his throat before speaking "Well this is quite the development . . . though I must admit it is rather dense of me to not connect the dots when I know which academy you went to, Dante. To think one of the four prodigies of that academy was atten—"

"Two" Dante interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?"

"We were four until graduation. After the ceremony the academy usually had a dance of sorts . . . but there were many jealous individuals who resented our group because of our ability. Over half of the graduating class along with some underclassmen prepared an ambush and assaulted us using small explosions and dust barriers to separate us and try to kill us one by one . . . I watched as two of my closest friends died before my eyes, murdered by cowards who knew they were too weak to match any of us on their own. I was 16 at the time" Dante explained, his voice full of pain and anger.

Havasu heard some gasps come from behind him but he didn't turn to see who it was, too transfixed on hearing everything Dante had to say.

"How did you make it out?" asked Ozpin in a serious tone.

Dante looked him in the eye with clenched fists "I stopped holding back . . . I killed every single one of them with my bare hands, not caring how much they screamed, cried, or pleaded for mercy. The eldest of our little group on the other hand couldn't continue to fight . . . it was her little sister after all who had been killed but I made sure no one got near her. After what felt like hours, the hall was quiet, the walls and floor soaked in blood. I couldn't look back at my fallen friends and I left without a word . . . that was the last time anyone called me the Silver Demon, berserker of Mount Othrys Academy" he finished, blood starting to drip through his fingers from how hard his fist was clenched.

"I see . . . and you Lucian?" Ozpin asked as he took another swig of his coffee.

Lucian took a heavy breath before speaking "I didn't go to any official academy. Instead I was homeschooled in a way. I traveled frequently as part of my lessons. Many of my assigned tasks consisted of hunting down specific Grimm or people around small villages and towns. Between the years I was 12 and about 17 I kept up these travels until I was placed in a more stable employment. During those years I did make some enemies but I rarely ever left any witnesses unless they were uninvolved civilians. Over time they learned to recognize I was a wolf faunus and that my pattern was usually on moonlight nights so I was titled 'The Marauding Lycan'. That's about it really, nothing tragic to mark that title" he finished, his tone leaving no room for further explanation.

"T-That may be so . . . but the fact that by 16 you could and did take out Hunter level opponents alone is worrisome" said Glynda speaking for the first time. Both Crato and Havasu whistled at Glynda's statement. They were all relatively gifted fighters and killers in their own rights but to hear that Dante and Lucian already matched full hunters by the time they were just 16 was a little humbling to say the least.

"Are we going to reminisce on the past or discuss what happened tonight?" asked Dante angrily. "What the hell happened Ozpin? How did nearly fifty attackers get in without any notice? More importantly, just why were they targeting students?"

"I got a report that some guards who monitor the grounds were killed prior to the sabotage but didn't have any notice until after the scrolls were operational again" Ozpin explained evenly.

"And where the hell were you?" Dante continued.

"There were some guest near my private quarters . . . they were handled promptly" Ozpin answered coolly. As he raised his mug to his lips Havasu noted a slight stain of blood along the end of his sleeve.

"I am glad to see that at least you seem to be caring for the safety of the students. It looks like my previous concerns regarding you may have been misplaced" Ozpin continued.

"Are you forgetting the incident with Ms. Belladonna, Ozpin?" Glynda added in a disapproving tone. Before Ozpin could reply, they were cut off when a primal growl emanated from Dante, his eyes trained on Glynda, his fangs bared for a full view. It seemed that she paled even more as she took a step back, obviously frightened of what the dragon might do.

"Dante" Athena said softly as she looked at him. He turned to look at her, his lips closed to hide the fangs again.

"You are going to scare them even more" she continued in a gentle voice. Dante glanced back at the students' still present, fear evident across most of their faces, Blake and Velvet the only exceptions. He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh as he turned back towards Ozpin and Glynda.

"So, what is the plan of action" he asked in a calmer manner.

"For now, rest and recover. You Slayers did a good job overall and the students behind you deserve some time to digest tonight's events. It seems you all have much to discuss so Glynda and I shall leave you here" Ozpin answered as he stood up, placed his mug down, and walked over to the dead girl before gently picking her up and leaving the office, Glynda following close behind. "Oh and classes tomorrow will be canceled" he said offhandedly. Once they were gone the room fell in silence, the Slayers all turning around to look at the students. They shuffled somewhat nervously under the gaze of their superiors.

After a moment Ruby was the first to speak ". . . So what exactly are you Dante?" she asked softly. He closed his eyes as he sighed before he started to undo one of his wraps. In a few seconds he raised his arm forward for the students to see his armored forearm and knuckle. Some gasped at the sight of the brilliant silver scales with scarlet trimmings while others stayed silent.

"I'm a faunus . . . a dragon faunus" he answered.

"Why would you hide that?" asked Pyrrha.

"Yeah . . . it's not like we have anything against faunus" added Yang.

Some of the others nodded with her statement while Dante just shook his head slowly gaining confused looks in response.

"It's not that I am a faunus, it is the kind of faunus I am" he explained. The students didn't look like this made any more sense.

"What he means . . ." Lucian added "Certain types of faunus are feared and discriminated against far more than the rest. If it got out that he is a dragon, it would bring more trouble than it is worth"

"And it would put all of you in danger" Dante finished, his expression turning soft with the slightest degree of worry.

"So that's why you hide?" asked Ruby. Dante nodded.

"Then we won't tell anyone" she continued with a faint smile. The others nodded in agreement

"Thanks" he replied, looking rather relieved.

"Um . . . so what's with the eyes?" asked Nora.

Dante rubbed the back of his head, probably not wanting to go into much detail.

"Well . . . that's because I'm an Alpha" he answered.

"Alpha?" Nora continued.

"I'm not going to go into specific but there are four classes of faunus. Omegas, Gammas, Betas, and Alphas. There are only ten breeds of Alphas and all of them have eyes similar to mine, just look at Lucian for example" he explained as he pointed at Lucian.

The students looked at him in turn. Lucian gave Dante an irritated glance before looking back at the students and taking a slow breath before his eyes started to shift, the whites becoming a dark grey with his irises glowing a bright shade of blue.

"Wow" said Nora and Ruby in unison.

"Yeah, I'm an Alpha breed as well" Lucian said nonchalantly.

While all the attention was on Lucian, Havasu noticed that Dante seemed to be having a silent debate with Blake and judging from how her bow was flattened against her head, Dante was winning. After a moment Blake took a very audible breath as she stepped forward towards Dante, everyone now turning their attention to her. She turned to look at them before giving Dante a quick glance over the shoulder. He nodded with a smile so Blake looked back at her fellow students.

"I need to tell you guys something . . ." she said slowly as she reached for her ribbon. She undid the knot in a few pulls, allowing the dark cloth to fall and displaying her dark purple cat ears "I'm a faunus as well"

The room grew deathly quiet as everyone looked at Blake who seemed to slowly shrink away at the looks. After a minute or so Ruby and Nora started to coo over her ears. "Those are so cute" they said in unison as they rushed forward to get a closer look. Blake took a step back at their sudden advance and glanced at Dante for guidance but he just shrugged with a smile.

She looked back at Nora and Ruby who were jumping excitedly while a few of the others approached as well though Weiss seemed to stay back. It seemed that Dante noticed this and spoke up. "Weiss?"

She looked at him nervously before speaking "Y-Yes?"

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

Weiss shuffled nervously as some of the others turned to look at her "I understand why you hid it but why did you hide, Blake?"

Blake ears flattened again as she looked at Weiss, taking a deep breath before answering "Because . . . I didn't want to be treated differently for being a faunus and . . ."

"And what? It's not like you are one of those murders from the White Fang" Weiss continued.

Blake looked down at her feet unable to look at Weiss. Weiss stared at her for a moment as realization came to her, her face turning to shock before anger while the others looked at her incredulously.

"You are!" she shouted with a stamp of her foot. Blake yelped from the suddenly angry tone and in a blur of black she was standing behind Dante, her head peeking out from beside his shoulder.

"I-I was . . . I left them and no longer associate with them" she said weakly.

Weiss looked like she was going to go into a tirade when Dante spoke up again.

"Weiss, enough. I can understand how you feel in regards to the history between the Fang and your family's company but Blake doesn't deserve that anger" he said in an even tone.

Weiss turned her anger to him "How can you know? I grew up watching the effects of White Fang attacks. Board members disappearing, friends taken for ransom, entire dust shipments stolen, and a very angry father for as long as I can remember!" she said as tears threatened to break out.

Dante didn't even flinch as he replied "Because my entire family line was forced into exile because of the White Fang's betrayal. They are one of the reasons I have to hide my very existence, caused more suffering for the faunus they claim to protect, take in orphans and indoctrinate them with lies, and even now still hunt for the scattered Alphas. The SDC may have been at war with them for some time but the first to be struck by the Fang were the Alphas. They target your company for its labor laws and business partners but here is the truth . . . the SDC is cruel in regards to faunus treatment, that can't be denied"

"How dare you!?" Weiss shouted back.

"Have you seen the mines? Read the reports on faunus labor? No, you have lived a sheltered life hearing only one side of the story and fed lies about how faunus are inferior and that all faunus have ties to the Fang" he continued in a steely tone.

Weiss looked at him in shock, unable to form a counter-argument so Dante continued.

"I can personally attest to the fact that I hate the White Fang more than anyone, after all I've seen up close what they do, seen the families torn apart, the lives pointlessly lost in their blind pursuit of supposed equality so yes Weiss, I do know what it feels like" he finished as his eyes bored into her.

Weiss stood rigid, tears threatening to breaking out before she turned on her heel and marched out of the office. Dante sighed heavily as he was about to step forward until Athena placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her as she gave him a quick glance.

"I'll go talk to her, ok? You stay here and handle the rest" she said softly as she followed after Weiss, disappearing behind the doors.

"That was a little harsh" commented Jaune.

"Going soft wouldn't have done her any good" Dante replied in a tired tone. Blake was still behind him though no longer clinging on as she had before.

"I'm so sorry about this . . ." she said to no one in particular.

"Hey . . . you said you are no longer associated with them so it's ok" said Ruby as she walked over and put a reassuring hand on Blake's shoulder. Blake still unconvinced but then Yang added in "Right and besides, you are my partner and our friend. We'll be there whenever you need us"

The members of team JNPR and Velvet nodded as well making Blake smile faintly. It seemed that the tension in the air was finally dissipating with everyone relaxing.

"So, is that why you two are going to train with Dante?" asked Coco.

"Yes, you see they are both in a pack with me now" answered Dante.

The students looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"It's a long story so short version: Faunus tend to form packs if a strong leader appears and these two were stubborn about it so now I'm their leader. Just think of me as their big, overprotective brother" he finished sheepishly.

"Aww . . . isn't that adorable" Yang teased Blake making her lightly blush.

"Now then, I think we should head back to our dorm" said Lucian.

"Good idea but I think they should come with us for now" replied Dante as he gestured to teams JNPR and the rest of team RWBY.

"May I ask why?" said Pyrrha.

"Because there are five bodies outside your dorm and I'm pretty sure there is blood splatter on the doors . . ." Dante answered making a few of them pale ". . . and I want to discuss plans for this weekend"

"Um for what?" asked Jaune.

"Training" Dante answered as he started walking out of the office.

* * *

"Weiss . . . come on. I can't really help if you won't even look at me"

Weiss remained silent as she continued to walk away from Athena heading who knows where. Athena had caught up to her in a few minutes or so after waiting for the elevator leading to Ozpin's office but even now the girl refused to stay still. Athena was trying to be gentle and so resolved to follow her until she stopped on her own rather than force her to. They soon arrived back at the center courtyard. The moon was still out and the air felt far more peaceful now that there weren't any threats. Weiss slowed down as they neared the small pond before coming to a full stop and looked down into the mirror like surface of the water.

Athena walked up to stand beside her, waiting to see what she would say. A tear or two escaped as she finally looked up at Athena.

"H-He's right . . . I don't know much about the faunus at all. Yet I still challenged him on whether he understood how I felt. Now I just made him angry" she said.

"He isn't angry Weiss" Athena said softly.

"How do you know?"

"Because I've gotten to know him very well this past week and I can tell if he is honestly angry. He was a little rough with what he said but didn't mean any ill will by it. He just wants you to open your eyes and think for yourself"

Athena looked to her left and noticed a small bench. She motioned for Weiss to follow and so they both sat down, looking out at the water. Once they were comfortable Athena continued to speak.

"I know it isn't pretty but a lot of things in this world are cold and unforgiving. Sadly, sometimes you need to have your eyes opened by force to see the truth and it might not be what you expected"

". . ."

"But it is better to try and understand the reasons behind why things are the way they are. Take Blake's past for example. All you heard was that she used to be part of the Fang and so reacted rather negatively but you had your reasons. You've suffered because of the Fang and have lost people but you know what the sad part is?"

"What?"

"That many White Fang members are just confused individuals who have suffered some kind of loss and so want to feel as if they can regain what they lost. I learned that first hand from Dante and Lucian. They told me about the lies told to the younger generations, the betrayals, and how in the end most of the Fang are just sad pawns being used by others to meet their own ends"

"But if most of the White Fang are just pawns without control of themselves, then why did Dante say he hates them more than anyone and kill them?"

Athena thought about her question for a moment, picking her words carefully. "I can't fully explain that but what I can say is that he acted on the hate he had for them before he learned the whole truth himself. Even now he struggles with that resentment and anger. Just think about what happened to Blake. He almost killed her just because she was taken in by the Fang from a young age and didn't know any better until she left. I saw just how much it scared him that his anger could get the better of him"

". . ."

" . . . I think he wants to teach you this before you let your own anger cause you the same grief. Believe me . . . you don't want to live with those sorts of regrets"

Weiss was silent for some time, eyes fixed on her own reflection from the pond.

"Athena . . ." Weiss said "How do all of you deal with taking lives?"

Athena sighed tiredly before answering "You tell yourself that it's necessary and move on or at least that is what happens after some time. It's different for everyone and the first time is always the hardest but it never stops hurting, just a little less than last time"

"I see . . . so do all Slayers have to kill at one point or another?"

"Sometimes there simply isn't a way around it"

"How many have you killed?" Weiss asked suddenly, looking away from the pond to face her.

"You don't want to know that answer" she replied in a sad tone.

Weiss looked back down, her bangs obscuring her eyes from sight.

"Weiss . . . you've never seen a death happen in front of you before, have you?" she asked softly.

Weiss shook her head, a tear running down her cheek.

"Then tonight must have been particularly tough for you. I'm truly sorry you had to see any of this."

Weiss took a shaky breath before speaking "I've been face to face with death before. Against all sorts of Grimm and even tested to my limit to prove to my father that I could handle training as a Huntress but I've never felt what I did tonight. What was that? You called it something back in Ozpin's office"

"Killing intent. You know how you sometimes feel like someone is watching you and you later learn that it is your aura letting you know someone is around. Over time as you become more experienced fighting against humans or faunus, you learn to tell apart malevolent intention through aura since in a way aura conveys what we feel. You've never felt it before because Grimm don't have an aura and even if you felt it, you would not recognize it"

"So the Slayers can feel and track killing intent?"

"Yes. In fact we can attack with it" Athena answered.

"How?"

"Well, so far you guys have only learned about using aura through semblance or dust but the rest of the time your aura control is passive and reflexive. Some of you learn to use aura on the offensive like Ren for example but it is limited to his palms and takes time to focus. I can't go into details for now but all Slayers and advanced Hunters learn to use aura actively to augment their bodies"

". . ."

"So with active aura control a Hunter learns to both control their aura and read the aura of others. If they are skilled enough they can match the aura strength of an opponent and cancel out an attacker's aura with their own. They can also learn to project their aura around them to both sense others within a certain range and drive their emotions through it. It's like when you stare daggers at someone from behind them and wish they could feel just how angry you are with them. Your aura actively passes on those feelings and if they are strong enough, they can incapacitate an opponent with a weak will or resolve" she finished.

"If there is such a strong technique, then why don't you use it more often?" Weiss asked, no longer looking sad but more politely curious with the new topic.

"Because it's possible to affect allies within proximity. Tell me, how do you aim something with no tangible form that you can't actually see and has an undefined starting point?"

"Ok, that makes sense . . . so do you think you can show me?"

Athena shook her head "No, you have had enough tonight as it is and you already felt it back when the intruders attacked didn't you?"

"Yeah but it was nothing compared to what Lucian's felt like. The women who escaped mentioned his past title and when he growled . . . it felt like I was drowning and there was no escape" she answered with a shiver at the memory.

'_So that's what I felt . . . Damn Lucian has got some serious aura. I've never felt anything so primal before and at such a far distance too!' _she thought as she looked Weiss over. She didn't seem to be as upset as before so Athena was going to try and see if she could resolve the issue about Blake.

"Weiss" she said.

"Hm?" Weiss looked at her.

"Be honest . . . how do you feel about Blake now?"

Weiss took a moment to respond ". . . I think I was mostly upset that she didn't tell us sooner. Now that you talked with me about it I see that judging her outright wouldn't be right . . . and I think I understand why Dante said what he did"

"So do you think you'll be ok with going back to my dorm, I'm pretty sure they already left Ozpin's office, or do you want to stay out here a little longer?"

"I'm ok" Weiss replied with a faint smile. Athena returned the smile as she stood up and waited for Weiss to do the same. They walked away quietly, content with the results of their talk. Athena herself felt that she had gotten closer as a friend to Weiss and hoped the younger girl would come to her whenever she needed someone to talk to. Their walk to Athena's dorm took about ten minutes as they strolled along in a leisurely pace.

Once at the dorm, they walked in to see teams JNPR, the rest of RWBY, Coco and Velvet all sitting on or around the sofa, the coffee table pushed to one of the walls to make space, with Dante in the kitchen while Lucian and Crato sat on some chairs they pulled up. Yatsu, Fox, Thantos, and Havasu were nowhere to be found. Team ASCZ were all fully changed as well and cleaned of blood, each dressed in their usual shorts and t-shirts. Dante also didn't have his wraps on though Blake had re-hidden her ears.

Athena and Weiss walked up to the group as all eyes turned on them. After a moment of silence Weiss spoke up "I'm sorry Blake. It was wrong of me to get angry like that"

Blake looked at her for a moment before responding. "It is ok Weiss . . . I understand why you did and don't blame you. I'm sorry for hiding it too."

"Great! Then team RWBY is back to 100%!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly eliciting a few chuckles.

Weiss smiled at that as she sat down beside Ruby on the couch while Athena ducked in her room to change quickly. As she closed the door and turned around to strip down she noticed that her Savage 110 was laid out beside her bed. '_Completely forgot about that back at Ozpin's office' _she thought as she soon got out of her uniform. She put on a black tank top and blue short shorts before stepping back out to see Dante had served everyone drinks. Ruby, Nora, and Blake had glasses of milk while Yang, Ren, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Velvet had juice. Crato had what looked like a beer bottle while Dante, Lucian, and Coco had coffee mugs.

Athena plopped down beside Dante who was sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall so he could look at everyone. She leaned against him slightly, finding comfort in his familiar warmth. She looked at his coffee cup, the aroma enticing her more every second. She nudged Dante to get his attention and once he looked at her, she gave him her own puppy pout as she reached for his mug. He caught her intent and rolled his eyes as he handed her the steaming cup which she happily took before taking a slow sip. It was creamy and sweet, the rich flavor coursing through her mouth as warmth spread through her. She sighed contently before taking another sip, then returning it back to Dante, his fingers trailing over hers.

She made eye contact with him, their faces only a few inches apart. She thought back to the kiss on the cheek she gave him earlier, a blush tinting her cheeks as she looked away. At the time she hadn't been sure what came over her, she just acted on desire and almost ended up actually kissing him, luckily she managed to reign herself in and avoided messing up their relationship.

She looked around and noticed that attention seemed to be focused on them, Blake and Velvet in particular were looking at her intently. She looked back at Dante to see if he noticed but he seemed to either be ignoring the looks or was just oblivious to it. He downed half the coffee in one go before clearing his throat to speak.

"Now then. Most of you were aware that I was taking Blake and Velvet training tomorrow night and coming back in the morning"

"What for?" asked Jaune.

"To test their abilities as faunus. Strength, stamina, senses, etc." he answered.

"Couldn't you do that in the area or gym?" asked Yang.

"No, to really test out a faunus you need to be out in nature and tested with real hostility. I can't truly test them in an arena or gym, it needs to be with actual danger and nothing but the clothes on our back and our instincts to hold us through."

"Isn't that a little too rough" Ruby commented.

Dante shook his head "You've all been having it too easy is more like it"

"Ok then, so why are you telling us this?" asked Weiss, always the one to get to the point.

"Because, after tonight's events, I'm far more concerned with your general safety and I want to prepare you for the worst" he answered in a grave tone.

Everyone grew quiet as Dante continued.

"There are unknown parties targeting Beacon or some of us specifically. I don't know why but I won't take any risks so now I plan to further each of your training aside from what Beacon is already teaching you" Dante then looked at each of his fellow Slayers in turn before continuing "I was also hoping you guys would help along"

"Sure" Athena instantly replied.

"I'm game" Crato added.

"Well I better come along to make sure you don't end up killing them" Lucian said with a smirk.

"Oh come on, if there's a heartbeat then they're not dead" Dante replied with his own smirk. Some of the students paled at his statement so Athena flicked him on the forehead.

"Ow" he said sarcastically as he looked at her.

"Dante, I think you're forgetting that they don't heal the way you do or are built as tough as you" she scolded him.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Yang.

Athena turned to look at her before explaining "He got shot in the gut with grey anti-aura rounds at point blank range. The bullets didn't even get past his skin and twenty minutes later the cuts were completely healed"

The looked at Dante incredulously as he shrugged and said "Natural healing" nonchalantly.

"But anyway . . ." Dante said getting serious again ". . . I want to help each of you get stronger and round out your weaknesses regardless of what type they may be"

"Weakness types?" asked Coco with a raised eyebrow.

"Everyone has a weakness or two and most people can say it's either physical, emotional, or mental but I consider there to be a fourth. It's called a conditional weakness. One example would be that Weiss or Ruby are just about defenseless without weapons. This has also created a physical weakness since your bodies have adjusted to weapon use and so becomes unbalanced if you aren't armed" he elaborated.

He then looked at Yang "Yours is emotional, you are too easy to taunt and bait"

He looked at Blake and Velvet "Both of you have mental weaknesses. Velvet, you doubt yourself too much and even when you act you hold back. Blake, you overthink the situation leaving opportunities for an opponent to counter or stress out if they give you too much pressure"

"I can't say for Coco or team JNPR though, haven't seen you in action enough" he said.

"Allow me" Lucian said as he looked at Jaune "Not to be cruel or anything but physical, mental, and conditional. You are physically lacking, your sword play is amateur, take away your shield or team and you are dog chow, and lastly you also doubt yourself far too much. You are a leader now, that is both a privilege and burden but you most step up to the demand, Ozpin chose you for a reason so try to be a little more confident in yourself" Jaune deflated at his words but perked up a little with the last part.

Lucian then looked at Pyrrha "Conditional. You are cool and level headed in combat but if an opponent turns out to be superior, your judgment begins to lapse and you get stubborn. That's what happened when you sparred against Crato and you nearly got your arm shattered for it" he finished as Pyrrha looked down in slight shame.

He then looked at Nora "Conditional as well as mental. If Ren isn't there to give direction or a team leader, you fall into a pattern of attack without proper defense leaving you open to counters"

Lastly he looked at Ren "Physical, your stamina is lacking and you take time to recover"

After he finished he looked back at Dante, waiting for him to continue.

"So this weekend I want to get a full grasp of each of your physical abilities and plan out how to train each of you. Then we will progress into armed combat and later aura" said Dante.

The students nodded at Dante's plan, understanding that he was quite serious about this. Then Ruby asked a question "This mystery mistress really has you bothered doesn't it?"

Dante let out a tired sigh before responding "Yes it does. I don't know who it could be but if she knows my name from Mount Othrys Academy, then that means she has to have had some relation to it."

"How come none of us have ever heard of that academy?" asked Weiss.

"And why does everyone keep saying it's a place full of monsters?" added Ruby.

"Because . . . it is a faunus only academy located outside the borders of the kingdom of Vacuo, far to the north near the Redwood Mountains. As for why it's called that is because their teaching practices are not within standard of any kingdom funded academy" Lucian answered.

Everyone gave him questioning looks so Dante explained further "Othrys is an old school that was created a few years after the Faunus Revolution in secret by some faunus clans who moved to the area, meant to teach high born faunus pertaining to the founding clans. There they stayed training students as if they were still at war, pushing them to every limit mentally and physically. About a decade or so later the academy was discovered by some humans scouting the area. Of course there was a hell of a mess and general panic by the local government but they lacked the resources or support necessary to force the academy to close, many of the teachers and alumni being recognized as particularly dangerous individuals, so in the end it was kept a secret from most of the general population but recognized by the kingdom as a legitimate school."

". . ."

"Over time the academy became more modern as times changed and they allowed for more faunus to attend even if they weren't of high breeding but the general system of the academy never changed. The minute you step into the gates, you fight. Teachers allowed and even encouraged open brawls. Students formed packs, fought for territory, and sometimes even killed. It was all allowed so that only the strongest ever emerged. It was a four year school and students usually graduated at 18. Freshmen classes usually numbered up to 100 but by senior year, it was common for them to number roughly 30" Multiple students gasped at the numbers, all listening on in disbelief.

"I started in the junior year at 14 nearly 15. Imagine it, some punk suddenly showing up being two years younger than you in an academy meant to train and produce the best of the best, and not giving one damn about the pack territories or hierarchy. I had every big name and group after me in a matter of days but I didn't really care, I was already skilled in Muay Thai by then so I handled any grunt that tried to mess with me. Even then I hid the fact that I was an Alpha and just passed off as lizard faunus. I actually ran into a small pack that had formed recently, a very loud and aggressive redhead with her boyfriend and her adopted little sister who had been moved up one grade that year, all in my same year"

"What happened then?" asked Ruby as she leaned forward, transfixed by the story.

Dante smirked as he answered "What else? Got into a fight, took out her boyfriend quick enough but she on the other hand was a tough one. We were more or less matched until her sister intervened once it looked like I was getting the upper hand. It's odd but they didn't attack me together and left me alone for the rest of that day. About a week later they approached me and asked if I wanted to be part of the pack. I initially blew them off but the little sister persisted until I said yes just so she would stop following me around."

". . ."

"After a month or two I started to warm up to them though I never once revealed that I was an Alpha but things changed after one particular pack leader decided to jump the boyfriend and left him bed ridden for a week. I caught wind about it first and while the sisters got him medical attention I attacked the leader and his pack alone. One against five and I came out with just a bloody lip and a bruised rib. After that our pack started to get more attention from other packs so we started to train together extensively on weekends and free time for about a month or two. Then we started to search out and attack other packs until we beat every single pack in our year by the time winter break arrived."

"Then what?" asked Blake.

"We knew that some of the seniors had taken note of us so over the month long break we dedicated our time to training even more. By then I was already starting the basics of Muay Boran and started training with my father. When we got back for the new semester, we had all grown considerably stronger and sure enough by week one a senior pack attacked us. We crushed them and soon rumors started to spread about us. As the months passed the largest and strongest senior packs attacked us but no matter how badly we got hurt, we never lost. That year ended with all the upperclassmen packs defeated by a junior pack of four, each member cementing a title that all would recognize . . . the dragon known as the Silver Demon, the redheaded lioness as the Bloody Queen, the leopardess as the Soundless Terror, and the bear known as the Mountain Beast" he finished.

Everyone stayed silent for some time after he finished, slowly digesting the story they had just heard. The silence was finally broken by Nora, not too surprisingly. "So who was the other that escaped the attack?" she asked rather nervously.

Dante looked at her somewhat sadly as he answered "The lioness"

"What happened to her after the attack?" asked Ruby next.

"I don't know . . . after I finished off the last of the traitors, I left without a word. I never returned or looked back after that night . . ." he answered.

"Why? Weren't you worried about her? Why did you just leave!?" asked Yang in a slightly raised voice as she leaned forward.

"Because . . . I couldn't bring myself to look at her . . . or the body she was crying over. She trusted me to protect her sister whenever things got rough and I failed. I watched helplessly as someone drove a poisoned dagger into her back while she was busy fighting off two others. I held her in my arms as she said her last goodbye, as the light left her eyes . . . after that I snapped and started to kill in earnest until there wasn't anyone left" he answered weakly as he looked down.

Yang wasn't expecting such an honest answer and leaned back, unsure of how to continue. The others stayed quiet as well, not wishing to upset him any further. Athena didn't want to see him so down so she slowly placed her hand on his arm to get his attention. As he turned to face her, she felt her heart sink. His face looked so frail, the sadness and regret dampening the usually upbeat and serious fire that burned in his eyes. She didn't know what she could say to make him feel better, she wasn't sure if any words could help at all, so she let her body act on its own like when she supported him after he told her about the outpost.

She closed her eyes, slowly resting her head against his shoulder while draping both her arms around his, letting the contact express her support and how she was there for him. It seemed to work. A familiar warmth began to radiate from his body as he rested his cheek against her head and slowly exhaled, the tension in his arm dissipating. She could feel everyone's eyes on them but she didn't care in the slightest. None of them knew what she did, the true pain that Dante was always carrying, and now it finally clicked. She had always wondered why Dante seemed so ready to help others at his own expense even though his own hands were stained in blood and why he got so protective the minute someone seemed like they were in trouble. He was scared, scared to lose those he cared for, scared to fail again, and even more so . . . scared of being alone.

'_But you aren't alone anymore . . . you have Blake and Velvet in a pack with you that they chose to join, the rest of team RWBY also looks up to you now. Lucian, Crato, Thantos, and Havasu are your friends as well and I promise I'll always be there too'_ she thought as she tightened her grip on his arm. They stayed silent like that for some time until Dante slowly removed his head. She looked up at him to see that his eyes had returned to their familiar glow, a faint smile tracing his lips. A warm hazel that always drew her in as they conveyed kindness and strength yet were serious and slightly sad. She returned a warm smile herself before turning to look at their audience.

Most were looking on politely, waiting for them to finish their moment, though Crato looked rather bored which slightly irritated her and Jaune looking somewhat uncomfortable. Blake and Velvet on the other hand were beaming at her, their eyes saying one thing 'thank you'.

Then a scroll rang, Lucian's since he immediately took it out of his pocket to read the message. He looked at the group before speaking "Looks like all the cleanup is done. The teams can head back to their dorms"

"Ok then . . ." Said Dante as he stood along with Athena ". . . then I'll go and walk them back"

"No, don't worry about it Dante. You look like you need some serious rest" said Yang.

"I agree. You've done more than enough tonight" added Weiss.

Dante didn't seem too convinced, clearly worried that something else might happen, and was about to reply when Lucian spoke up. "I'll go with them, so you can rest easy."

He stood up and walked over to Dante and placed a firm hand on his shoulder while giving him a nod. Dante relaxed a little now that Lucian was chaperoning, and soon the students began to file out after him as he walked out. Each said their goodnights, while Ruby, Blake, and Velvet each gave Dante a hug. Athena was surprised herself to also receive quick hugs from Blake and Velvet, and most surprisingly Weiss as well, though it was a little awkward since Weiss obviously wasn't used to being affectionate. '_Looks like everyone has gotten a little closer tonight' _she thought happily as the last of the teens walked out the door.

She then looked to see Dante giving a quick goodnight to Crato before walking into their room. Once he closed the door Athena walked up to Crato, feeling sure that something was bugging him. He had been acting odd since she made the plans for how to deal with attackers and wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Crato . . . is something the matter?" she asked in a soft yet firm voice.

He glanced at her for a moment before standing from his seat to look down at her "Nothing important" he said hotly.

"Doesn't sound like it's nothing" she replied, further convinced that something was off.

"Well whatever, it's not like I have to answer to you or anything" he muttered as he walked into his dorm and slammed the door shut.

Athena sighed in irritation but didn't pursue the issue. She was just as tired as everyone else and so got a quick drink of water before heading into her room. Once inside she saw Dante was leaning against his bed waiting for her.

"Hey" he said softly.

"Hey" she replied in kind.

"I just wanted to say . . . thank you. It really helped having you there" he said as he gave her a warm smile. She felt herself blush slightly, her body warming at the thought of being so close to him.

"You're welcome . . . and any time you need me I'll be there, promise" she said as she tried to control her blush. It was a losing battle.

"I'll remember that" he said as he walked up to her until they were only inches apart and enveloped her in his arms, her head resting right in the crook of his neck. She gladly returned the gesture, taking solace in the fact that they were alone, as she snuggled closer to feel the steady drum of his heart course through his chest. It was addicting, the warmth that always came from him, and Athena could feel herself start to get extremely drowsy from feeling so secure and comfortable. She didn't know how long they stayed there but as soon Dante started to release the embrace she groaned in protest without thinking, though it did make him stop.

She was too cozy and honestly her feet felt wobbly from exhaustion. Whether Dante noticed or not, she wasn't sure, but he chuckled as he picked her up bridal style and softly set her down on her bed, bringing up her sheets to her shoulders.

"Are you trying to spoil me or something?" she teased groggily.

Dante gave her an amused look as he responded teasingly "I don't know? Do you want to be?"

"I wouldn't mind from time to time" she joked.

"Then let me know whenever you feel like it . . . My Lady" he said while bowing down in an exaggerated manner, his left arm held behind him while his right crossed over his chest.

"Dummy" she said as she giggled at his antics.

He smiled again at her before walking over to their lamp and turning it off, shrouding the room in darkness. She could still see his figure as he got into his bed and got comfortable.

"Goodnight" he then called out.

"Goodnight" she replied in kind before she fell unconscious, the full weight of the night's events thoroughly draining her, into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Alright, now that we got some feels out of the way . . . time for some training. Better start praying teams RWBY and JNPR (going to need it)**

**Comments, ideas, feedback welcome!**

**Fav~Follow~Review**


	20. Boil Over

**Author's Note: Hey everyone, been longer than usual for me to post . . . complicated chapter. We finally get to some training and see just what the Slayers are made of. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Beta: yuvinile**

* * *

"Dante . . . Dante . . . Dante . . . wake up"

He groaned as he pulled his head out from under his pillow, one eye open to see who had woken him. He was met with dark blue eyes staring into his, a slightly annoyed expression on her face as she continued to shake him.

"Come on Dante, it's almost 12 pm and everyone is wondering where we are" said Athena as she switched from shaking his shoulder to pulling off his sheets. '_I swear . . . if it had been anyone else I would have knocked them out. You are so taking advantage of this'_ he thought as he slowly pushed himself off his bed and sat up on the side. He looked at her and noticed that she was dressed to train. She had a grey tank top on with a black sports bra underneath, dark green jogging shorts, and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She also had her whip strapped to her hip and a backpack on.

"Morning sleepy head" she replied nicely as she took a step back waiting for him to get dressed.

"Morning to you too" he said groggily as he stretched out, a soothing pop coming from his shoulder.

He took the hint and started to change in front of her, quickly stepping into some black training shorts that were about an inch or two short of reaching his knees and a blue tank shirt. He then tied on his black wraps and put on his dual machetes. He wasn't planning on actually using them to train today but if plans went ahead as he envisioned them, he would need them to skin and cut up some Grimm meat. He then grabbed an empty bag and filled it with an empty water bottle, some medical clothes, a needle, and string. '_Everything else I might need can be found in the forest' _he thought as he put on his sandals and nodded to Athena, letting her know they could leave now.

"So, where is everyone anyways?" he asked.

"They are waiting in the cafeteria. Since they already knew that Ozpin had canceled classes today and it's the weekend tomorrow, everyone slept in. I woke up and hour or so ago and talked with Lucian for a moment before he left to gather teams RWBY and JNPR. Crato woke up soon after and left to meet up with them while I waited for you" she explained.

"Ok, then we leave right after everyone eats. It's going to be a long two days" he said.

"Looks like it" she agreed as they soon arrived at the cafeteria.

It wasn't particularly full but there seemed to be a heavy atmosphere as most ate rather silently. Dante noted a few looks he got as he entered though it seemed different. As he passed a table one student called out to him "Sir"

Unaccustomed to being called sir he turned to see a dark haired boy looking up at him with light brown eyes. Dante didn't recognize him but guessed he was probably a second year, maybe younger.

"Yes" he replied politely.

The boy shuffled nervously before continuing "Thank you"

"What for?" he asked, unsure of why he was receiving gratitude from someone he didn't know.

"Early this morning, when the students were beginning to head to classes, Ozpin called for a gathering in the auditorium. He told us about what happened last night, how there was an attack and how the Slayers responded to protect us students . . . and why he canceled classes today" the boy answered, his voice barely a murmur at the end.

Dante sighed softly as he looked around. Other students were looking at them and now he understood why they looked so solemn yet also respectful[YO1] . He wondered what Ozpin had said exactly but didn't want to dive into such a subject. It was better to let it rest as is.

"I see . . . you're welcome," he replied softly before he began to move on. The boy nodded as he sat back down, his companions speaking to him in hushed voices.

"Did you know about that?" he asked Athena as they made their way to the table where their friends and mentees were waiting.

"First time I heard about it" she responded in an even tone.

They arrived at the table where everyone was waiting, receiving a few greetings as they sat down to eat. Lucian had taken it upon himself to get Dante and Athena's food before the cafeteria ran out since they were arriving relatively late. Most had finished their meals and waited patiently as Dante and Athena dug in. Dante had a plate full of chicken thighs and drums, a large bowl of brown rice, and a large cup of assorted fruits[YO2] . Athena had a large bowl of noodles in broth with stewed vegetables and chicken. They both ate at a quick pace to save time, Dante eating each chicken drum in a bite or two, bones and all. He noticed that some of the students were making faces at him as they heard his teeth crunch through bone but he ignored it. When one is preparing to train extensively in an area with possibly limited resources, you eat everything you can beforehand[YO3] .

After they both finished eating, Dante did a quick look over all those gathered. His team was all there along with teams RWBY, JNPR, and Velvet. Everyone was dressed appropriately in assortments of light t-shirts or tank tops, jogging shorts or sweatpants, and backpacks. He could also see some tents and medical kits attached to some of their packs which made him smirk.

"Just so everyone is clear, this isn't going to be some run of the mill training session. Even if it is to test out your skills and strengths, this is going to be tough on more than just your bodies so if anyone wants to back out now is your chance" he said.

No one made any objections so Dante gave a firm nod before standing to deposit his plates. A few of the others also went with him to deposit their plates before leaving together towards the fields near the initiation cliffs. As they walked along Dante got beside Lucian and asked him "Are Havasu and Thantos joining us?"

Lucian shook his head "No, they already had planned to train with the rest of team CFVY. They should be in the gym right now."

"Makes sense" he replied before staying silent for the rest of the walk.

Once at the fields Dante stepped forward and turned around to address them all on how he planned to proceed.

"Alright, just a few ground rules before we head out. One, once we start moving, we won't stop until we reach the training grounds I picked out. Two, if you give up and quit at any point, you can't return until the group does as a whole. Three, no weapon or semblance use allowed unless directed by a Slayer. Four, you follow directions to the letter. Any questions?"

"Um . . . just where are we going?" asked Jaune hesitantly.

"There are some cliffs near a river at the northeast end of the Emerald forest. We are going to run there through the forest and set up a small impromptu training ground for the next two days. The area is reported to have low Grimm activity so it will be relatively safe for you guys" Dante answered.

"How far?" asked Ren.

"Don't worry about that, just keep running until we stop" Dante answered slyly.

Dante held back a chuckle, amused with some of the faces the students were making, before turning to face the forest and starting to jog lightly. He heard the others start to follow along and soon they were running in the forest, the sun obscured by the forest canopy. Athena was keeping pace beside him so he glanced over his shoulder to see how the group was doing. Ruby, Blake and Velvet were tailing right behind him, followed by Yang and Pyrrha, and lastly Ren, Nora, Weiss and Jaune. Lucian and Crato were running at the sides near the middle, keeping an eye for any sudden sign of Grimm activity.

No one seemed to be struggling with the current pace so Dante upped his speed slightly. Everyone adjusted easily enough but now he could tell the effort was straining some so he kept that pace for the time being. '_I'll up the ante a little more as we get farther but for now I'll keep it steady. Don't want to burn them out before we even get started' _he thought as he looked forward, already getting excited to start training.

* * *

"I-I … can't breathe …" Jaune panted on the floor.

"Please … never … again" Ren agreed on his knees.

"I can't feel my feet" Nora groaned as she flopped down on her rear.

The rest of the students were in mixed states of exhaustion. Weiss had her arm slung over Ruby's shoulder as they both panted, Pyrrha and Yang were each leaning against a tree or boulder, while both Blake and Velvet wobbled around on shaky legs. The Slayers themselves didn't even looked fazed though Crato and Athena did have some light perspiration along their backs. Dante and Lucian himself looked like they had taken a pleasant stroll, hardly sweating at all. Lucian was used to long treks in rough terrain. It was how he traveled most of the time during his early years training, so this was little more than a warm up for him and he wasn't really going to take pity on the teens.

"Big babies" Dante muttered as he looked at the clearing they had stopped at.

It was a rather nice area, the trees halted to form a ring along the border of a smooth river. There was a small waterfall, about five meters tall about twenty meters away, that flowed into the river. The clearing itself was covered in light patches of grass and dirt, the ground being mostly even and flat making for an excellent camping spot.

"Alright, you guys get thirty minutes before we start" Dante shouted out as he set his bag down next to a tree and removed his sandals.

The teens groaned in response while Crato chuckled at their expense. Lucian walked up to Dante to ask him what he planned to do first.

"So how are we doing this?" he asked.

"We let them catch their breath, then we take turns sparring one on one with no weapons since we've already seen what they can do with weapons. We let them attack without restraint and only block or dodge as we observe their fighting styles. From there we should judge how each student should be trained and by whom" Dante answered[YO4] .

"Ok, then you want to focus on training their bodies first or start with picking out the proper martial art to teach each?" he asked.

"A little of both. If we figure out which style suites them more, we can work the training around it. How many styles do you know?" asked Dante.

"Several degrees of Karate, Krav Maga, and some Kenpo"

"Good, I know street Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Savate"

Dante looked at towards the group before shouting "Hey Athena, Crato, can you guys come over here for a second?"

They both walked over, Athena had been speaking with Weiss and Ruby while Crato had been messing with the still panting Jaune.

"What's up?" asked Athena as she stopped beside Dante. Crato soon arrived as well.

"What fight styles do you guys know?" asked Dante.

"Oh, I know Tae Kwan Doe and Jujitsu" Athena answered.

"I don't use anything specific but I can use Boxing and Wrestling" answered Crato.

"Ok, that's a good variety of fighting styles we can teach them. Who wants to go first against who?" asked Dante.

"Your show, you start" Lucian said in a humorous tone. Athena and Crato nodded so Dante started to move away until he was in the center of the clearing.

"We are starting … Blake you are first" Dante called out.

Blake set Gambol Shroud down before approaching as the others gathered around to form a semi-circle about seven meters away to allow ample movement for the fighters. Once both fighters were in place Dante spoke "Ok, you can attack me however you want. This time only, you do not have to concern yourself with defense. I will focus on dodging and blocking, ok?"

Blake nodded as she took a loose fighting stance, her fits raised to cheek level and feet spread shoulder width apart. After a moment Dante nodded, a signal for Blake to begin. She rushed forward with impressive agility as she jabbed at his face. He tilted his head to avoid the hit, his eyes never leaving Blake's. She in turn lashed out with a hook but sailed over as he ducted under. Blake stumbled for a moment, pulled by her momentum but soon recovered and spun around with a side kick aimed at his gut. Dante blocked the kick with his palm before he shoved her leg away, the force making her lose her balance and fall on her rear.

Lucian watched the whole exchange with an expert eye, taking note of any excess movement or improper technique Blake might have used as she continued to attack Dante. They kept going for about five minutes, Blake never managing to land one solid hit, though Lucian had to commend her tenacity. Dante raised his hand as a signal to stop. Blake was panting from exertion and looked somewhat annoyed that she hadn't even made Dante move from his initial position.

"Don't pout, you did fine" he said with a smile which seemed to sate her.

"Velvet" he called.

She gulped as she walked forward, replacing Blake and waiting for Dante to signal for her to begin, her stance similar to Blake's but her feet were further apart and her arms were lower. As before Dante nodded and Velvet instantly propelled herself forward, the earth shattering where she had just been, and lashed out with a roundhouse aimed for Dante's head. He ducted under the strike but Velvet wheeled around with a back kick from her opposite leg. Dante blocked the hit with his backhand but before he could shove her away Velvet jumped back and reassumed a fight stance.

Dante smirked lightly as Velvet came forward again, this time starting with a series of jabs, most of which Dante simply dodged, before raising her left leg straight up and bringing it down in a drop axle. Dante's eyes flashed with surprise at the bold attack as he brought his right hand up and caught her leg at just above the ankle, stopping the leg dead but not before a concussive wave of force caused the ground at Dante's feet to crack. '_Impressive strike though it's a good thing he caught her leg above the ankle. Otherwise the force could have shattered her heel if she made contact.' _Lucian thought as he watched Dante shove her foot up making her fall flat on her back. She quickly stood back up, a determined look in her eyes, as she launched into another series of attacks, mostly kicks, until Dante said "Enough".

He gave her the same approving smile he had given Blake and then called out "Weiss, come up."

'_Weiss, huh…that is a surprise.'_ Lucian watched as Weiss approached and the look on her face said she was just as surprised to be called up. Dante waited for Weiss to assume a combat stance and right off the bat Lucian could see Weiss had next to zero unarmed combat experience. Her footing was odd, her center of gravity high, and her shoulders were too tightly knit forward. He started to feel worried for her knowing full that if she attacked with too much force, even if Dante did his best to cushion an attack with a block, the shear difference in muscle and bone density could easily cause damage to Weiss's body. Many fighters always concern themselves far more with how hard an opponent strikes and forget that if they let loose against a particularly strong opponent, their own attacks can cause more damage in backlash.

Dante seemed to study her stance for a moment before he signaled for her to begin[YO5] . Unlike the others, Weiss didn't surge forward but instead started to circle around Dante slowly, arms raised and torso aimed at him as she looked for any openings. Dante followed her movement carefully as he slowly rotated to stay facing her. This continued for about thirty seconds until Weiss finally stepped forward to attack, a simple jab for the face, which Dante dodged with a tilt of the head. She continued a series of punches, every movement strained with overexertion, before going for a push kick. Instead of dodging, Dante took the hit square in the gut but backpedaled as it connected thus turning it into a simple shove. Lucian could make out the faintest smirk as Dante looked at Weiss again, waiting for her to continue.

Weiss eyed him for a moment before rushing forward in a complete change of tactic. Everyone watched in surprise as Weiss Schnee, the ever proper heiress, went for a full on body slam which actually connected. It seemed that even Dante wasn't immune to total surprises judging from how he tried to back up only to stumble and for once fell on his back with Weiss landing on top of him. They watched in shocked silence as Weiss sat up and looked down at Dante with a cheeky grin.

"Got you!" she exclaimed in triumph as she fist pumped. This only earned a chuckle form Dante which made her expression shift from triumphant to confused. She then looked directly down and noticed she was sitting on his stomach before a dark blush colored her cheeks. She hurriedly scurried off him and stood rigid with her face down as Dante picked himself up.

"Oh come on, it's not that big a deal. Good job on surprising me though." Dante said in a joking fashion as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her blush starting to fade as she gave him a quick nod and walked back to join the others.

"Ok, Athena your turn" Dante said as he walked over to Lucian's side to watch as well.

"Okay" she replied as she approached where he had been standing before turning to face the teens. "Ruby" she called.

The redhead nodded as she eagerly stepped forward and took a stance. It looked similar to boxing though her arms needed to be higher but her center of gravity was low enough[YO6] . Like Dante, Athena motioned for Ruby to begin with a nod. Ruby went straight for the offensive with an opening kick for the gut. Athena used a standard k-block to cushion the blow before pushing Ruby's leg away. Ruby hopped back to avoid stumbling and ran forward again, this time with a punch at her face. Athena deflected the blow with a swat of her wrist, then sidestepped as Ruby tried for a knee strike. As Ruby kept lounging for any attack, Athena maneuvered in and out of striking distance, forcing Ruby to chase after her if she wanted to even get close.

After about five minutes of cat and mouse Athena stopped the match. "That's enough Ruby, good pacing" she said encouragingly though Ruby looked disappointed that she couldn't land a hit.

"Yang" said Athena as she retook her spot. The blonde brawler walked up, a glint in her eyes from her clear excitement at getting the chance to rumble. Yang went into her boxer stance, arms shoulder width apart at cheek level, one leg slightly leading the other. '_Good stance, should spread feet apart a little more but otherwise I don't see any clear openings in her stance' _Lucian thought as Athena commenced the fight. Yang sprang forward, a barrage of fists flying at Athena but she matched Yang, meeting each fist with an open palm or deflecting them aside. The engagements lasted for about thirty seconds each, after which Yang would back up to catch a breath and try to flank around Athena's guard. Athena on the other hand was too quick to adjust to any shifts Yang made, so in the end it was a repeat of attacks, Athena either blocking or deflecting every punch.

Lucian could tell that Yang was starting to get irritated, her temper rising with every dodged strike. After a quick exchange Yang backed up and glared at Athena, who in turn goaded at her to attack again. Yang took the bait and went for a right hook, falling right into Athena's palm. Athena stepped into the strike hooking her right shoulder under Yang's arm while simultaneously using her left hand to grab onto Yang's wrist and pull her over, thus tossing Yang over her shoulder and onto her back.

"That's enough Yang." Athena said as Yang got back on her feet to continue. She huffed in frustration but stopped regardless and went back to stand with the others.

"Looks like the whole 'you are too easy to bait' didn't get through" Dante muttered under his breath as Athena walked over to stand beside them.

"I'm next then" Lucian said as he replaced Athena. He looked at the teens before calling out "Pyrrha, come forward."

The Spartan walked forward confidently, prepared for the task at hand. Lucian watched as she took her stance, legs just past shoulder width apart while the arms were raised forward, elbows locked and hands at cheek level. Lucian recognized the style as Pankration, an ancient Greek martial art employing a variety of strikes, wrestling, joint locks, and strangulation. '_She even has experience with unarmed combat, excellent'_ he thought as he signaled for Pyrrha to begin. She slowly approached while looking over Lucian's position, familiarizing herself with his stance and movement. She then made a quick jab to test his reflex. He dodged simply enough and waited for her to continue. Pyrrha made another succession of test jabs and kicks, carefully judging every option.

Seemingly satisfied with the results, Pyrrha began to seriously attack. First she jabbed at his face but feinted before bringing around a kick to his thigh. Lucian used a quick leg-check and then backpedaled as Pyrrha kept the pressure in a rapid array of punches and kicks. Once Lucian stopped retreating, Pyrrha made a move for his arm trying to lock it behind him. He avoided the lock by keeping his arm bent while he twisted it to face up[YO7] , now forcing Pyrrha to work against the natural pull of his arm muscle and the odd angle it was at. After a few moments of struggling she gave up the lock and released his arm as she back up and planned a new attack.

She surged forward and feinted a punch before jumping over Lucian's shoulder while going for a choke hold, sadly for her Lucian saw through the feint and placed his forearm as a guard against the choke. As she pulled in vain against his arm he forced her arm open before grabbing onto her wrist and hauling her over his shoulder, onto the floor. She landed with a good thud, right on her rear.

"That's good Pyrrha, we're finished," he said as she stood up all the while rubbing her sore butt.

She looked at him and said "Didn't have to toss me over so hard" while pouting which he found cute in a childish way.

"Hehe, a little pain helps the lesson stick" he replied with a smirk. Her pout turned into a small frown as she rejoined the teens. "Ren" Lucian called out next.

Ren walked up, expressionless as always before he assumed his combat stance, traditional Shaolin Fist, and waited for Lucian to announce the beginning. Lucian again nodded and so Ren began his offensive rather quickly in a barrage of palm strikes and punches. Lucian dodged most strikes, deflecting the occasional attack that came close. They followed this pattern for some time until Lucian noticed that Ren was quickly running out of steam as his movements became sluggish. Ren went for a final strike at Lucian's sternum but Lucian rotated his torso at the last moment, Ren's momentum carrying him forward. Lucian capitalized on the slip up and used a leg sweep to trip Ren onto his back ending the match. Ren stayed on the ground for a minute or so while he tried to recover his breath.

Lucian offered him a hand up, which Ren took, and then walked out of the center back towards Dante while Crato replaced him. Crato called Nora up next and they both soon stood centered and ready, Crato's stance reminiscent of a wrestler mixed with boxing while Nora looked like an amateur wrestler. As Crato announced for them to begin Lucian turned to Dante.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"That we should divide up which students we get for each style of combat between you, me, and Athena. Crato is a strong fighter but he relies too much on strength to pull him through. Only Yang and Nora could employ levels of strength similar to him but Yang already uses Boxing and Nora needs to learn more than just grappling onto an opponent and hoping for the best. I want Crato to oversee strength training and later focus on weapons practice. There he has the edge on all of us in skill level and variety," Dante replied as he continued to watch the match.

Lucian looked as well, catching how Nora kept trying to hold Crato into a lock only to have him toss her off like a sack of flour.

"Agreed. So who do you want?" he asked.

"Obviously I'll take Blake and Velvet but I also want Weiss" Dante answered.

Lucian looked at him in surprise "Really? But isn't kickboxing too much? I mean, Blake and Velvet can handle the strain but Muay Thai is to brutal for what Weiss's body can manage, not to mention it goes completely against her style."

"Not Muay Thai, I want to teach her Savate. It is called the art of 'fencing with your feet' for a reason and it will match perfectly with how she fights with her rapier" Dante answered.

"I see" he answered as they watched Crato tossed Nora over for the last time before he called the match. Apparently Crato had not been as soft as the others since Nora limped somewhat favoring her right leg over her left as she walked back to the others. Crato then called up Jaune and the two squared off until Crato signaled. Jaune ran forward with an obvious right cross aimed for his cheek. Crato dodged it and every amateur punch that followed. As they continued Dante asked Lucian "So who are you training?"

"Ren, Pyrrha, and Nora. Ren for obvious reasons while Pyrrha so I can develop her Pankration further with Krav Maga and Nora can be taught some basic karate. Short, sweet, and destructive, it will be right up her alley" he replied with a smirk.

"Then that leaves Athena with Ruby, Yang, and Jaune. That's good. Ruby will be excellent for Tae Kwan Doe, Yang can progress further with an addition of Jujutsu to add chock holds and some footwork. Jaune is essentially the cleanest slate so we'll leave it up to Athena's judgement on how to teach him" continued Dante.

As he finished speaking Crato just finished with Jaune. Jaune had gone with a random kick the Crato didn't attempt to dodge so he ended getting kicked square in the gut but Jaune's leg wasn't up to the task. It ended with Jaune falling over, the hit sending a jarring shock up to his hip. They watched as Jaune got up on shaky legs and walked back to the other teens while Dante walked up and turned to face them.

He cleared his throat before speaking "Alright, now that we got that out of the way, I've decided who gets trained by who. Blake, Velvet, and Weiss are with me. Ren, Pyrrha, and Nora are with Lucian. Ruby, Yang, and Jaune are with Athena. Crato I want y—"

"Bullshit!" Crato interrupted. Everyone looked at Crato in surprise while he walked up to Dante stopping just a meter away, anger filling his eyes.

"Problem?" asked Dante nonchalantly.

"Problem? Yeah I got a problem, with you" Crato continued.

"Let's hear it."

"What's your beef with me huh? I'm just as qualified as any of you and yet you sideline me. You always give me the cold shoulder and then you give special treatment to everyone else, especially Athena"

"How so?"

"Don't act coy bastard. First it's the little 'hurt her again and I'll kill you' from initiation, then you get pissy when I make a joke at your two followers, and let's not forget how you so 'chivalrously' held Athena's hand throughout the entire time in class because she got a little shaky about what might be expected of us. Tough shit, we are all expected to take on whatever pain or task is assigned to us, if she can't handle it too bad. It's what we signed up for. When the intruders came you let her take command without so much as a second thought when you are supposed to lead and now, even though I'm more reliable in a fight than her, you give her trainees while sidelining me again," Crato ranted.

'_Dammit Crato! You didn't even let him finish explaining and now you are just making a mess!' _Lucian thought as he stepped forward to defuse the situation but Dante placed a hand in front of him. Lucian looked at Dante to see he was expressionless as his eyes carried the only sign of emotion, yet there was no anger, only pity. Crato noticed the look as well, his face getting angrier as he puffed out his chest.

"Is that all?" Dante asked, his voice still emotionless.

"What, you want more!? Do I need to beat it into you!?" shouted Crato.

"Crato stop this now, you've got it all wr—" Athena tried to speak until Crato interrupted with "Shut up!"

At that moment Lucian saw it, a spark of irritation replacing the pity that had previously occupied Dante's eyes.

"Athena, Lucian, give us some space" Dante said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Lucian placed his hands on Athena's shoulders and lightly pulled her back as they retreated to stand beside the silent trainees. Lucian could feel the atmosphere become tense as the two Slayers squared off, one itching to fight while the other stood with his arms crossed, completely annoyed with the event[YO8] .

Five seconds passed before Crato surged forward, his speed at a completely different level from anything the trainees had probably seen, with a right cross at Dante's face. Dante didn't even bat an eye as he tilted his head out of harm's way, narrowly missing the fist by an inch. Crato followed up with a left hook but only met the back of Dante's hand from a block. Before Crato could throw another punch, Dante flicked his arm forward, the knuckle connected with Crato's mouth sending him back a few feet. Crato spit out some blood as he glared at Dante, his anger only increasing with every minute that passed. Dante on his end actually looked bored, waiting for Crato to come at him again.

"Tell me Crato, what is really bothering you?" Dante asked in an even tone.

"Oh, now you're interested huh? It's a little late" Crato spat back as he ran forward again.

This time he used a burst of speed that even Lucian found surprising and threw a massive punch at Dante's side. Dante brought his arm to block the hit but the force behind the impact actually pushed him back several meters, his feet gouging out the earth as they dragged across. Crato didn't let up as he came forward again with a gut punch, the attack catching Dante off guard and winding him as he was knocked back another set of meters. Again Crato came forward to deliver a left hook but Dante didn't give him the chance this time as he lashed out with a left kick. Crato reacted in time to form a k-block though the impact sent him back a sparse distance. This time Dante didn't let up and came forward with a left jab followed by a right uppercut. Crato managed to catch the jab but the uppercut connected, knocking his head back with blood spluttering out of his mouth.

"This is getting out of control" Pyrrha said nervously beside Lucian. He glanced at her and the other teens. They all looked far more scared than anything as they watched two of their mentors fight.

"It is under control" Lucian commented, making several of the teens look at him in confusion. He sighed as he explained "Dante isn't even fighting seriously, if he had he could have finished Crato with that first jab. Crato is strong but unarmed he is just a brawler, Dante is a Muay Thai master. Not to get egotistical but I'm the only one that can fight evenly with him."

"R-Really? Just how strong is he?" asked Jaune as he continued to watch the fight.

"There is a reason he was known as the Silver Demon" Lucian answered blandly as he returned to looking at the combatants. He'd heard that name before, rumors about how Mount Othrys Academy had four monstrous students who had ruled the school until suddenly they disappeared four years ago. At the time he himself had wanted go to the academy, maybe face one of those monsters but his mother had been very adamant about his education and training. He remembered her words '_An Alpha has no need to be trained with common species. Petty packs and pointless territory battles mean nothing to us. You will stay with your own and train for the role you were meant to take'_. How ironic that now he is in a team with the supposed strongest of those monsters.

The fighters were standing a few meters apart, Dante had a bruised cheek but otherwise looked fine. Crato on his end was breathing heavily with blood trickling out of his mouth and a large welt forming on his shoulder. Crato's glare had only grown as their fight progressed but most surprisingly Dante looked almost sad, as if he was more upset with the fact that they even needed to fight rather than just talk it out.

"Tell me Crato, is it too late to stop and just talk it out or do you want to continue this pointless fight" said Dante.

"To you it's pointless huh? You are just like the rest . . . think you are better than me just because you have some infamy, use me for whatever you need and then forget about me the minute the task is done" Crato spat back, his words full of bitterness.

Dante took a heavy breath as he looked up, as if searching for an answer. His fists clenched as he spoke, his face still aimed up "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about this . . ."

"What?" Crato asked, clearly confused what he meant.

Dante suddenly turned his head down, his eyes shifted to dragon without the slightest hint of emotion. Silver orbs floating in blood, crossed slits focusing on the target before them. Lucian saw how even Crato got intimidated by the look, his frame starting to slacken as he took one step back. '_He already lost . . . to take a step back after such words. Whatever respect Dante had for him is surely gone now'._

In the blink of an eye Dante was gone, his body a blurry image as the ground shattered wherever he stepped before he appeared directly in front of Crato. Crato didn't react, not even aware that Dante was so close until he got slugged in the gut with a left shot, Crato lurching forward as the wind was driven out of him. While his head was leaned forward, Dante slammed the center of Crato's shoulders down with a falling elbow forcing him to one knee and knuckle for support as the ground beneath him crumbled underfoot. To top it off Dante raised his left leg straight up and brought his heel down, nailing Crato on the back of the head and planting his face into the ground as a three meter crater formed around them. It all happened within a matter of seconds and Lucian was sure he had been the only one to fully track the entire sequence.

As the dust settled, the image of Crato's face buried in the dirt with Dante's foot on top appeared. Everyone watched in absolute silence and surprise as Crato clenched his fist even with his face obscured but his defiant act didn't last. Dante just sighed as he suddenly drove his foot down with more force without lifting it off his head, the force deepening the crater as another cloud of dust rose up. They watched as Crato's fist stayed clenched for five more seconds before finally going slack, a marker that Crato was now unconscious or at least finally gave up.

Dante removed his foot and crouched down beside Crato, his eyes human again as he began to speak in a soft voice.

"Crato . . . I'm sorry for treating you differently. We have had some rough patches in the last few weeks but even then I still thought we were friends. If it was bothering you so much then you should have just told me. If you thought I would blow you off or laugh at you, then you are wrong. You accepted me for who I am even after seeing what I am, so I would have been a hypocrite to not consider how you felt. I don't know what you may have experienced with other teams but that doesn't mean we are like that and if you get angry, be angry at me. Neither our team or any of the mentees deserve that anger so don't bring them into it[YO9] ."

". . ."

"I know I've made mistakes but I'm trying to learn and I need you guys to help me with that. I told Blake that if I ever abuse my power as her Alpha she has to call me out on it, to show me my errors and help me learn. I ask the same of you as a leader, voice your opinion, tell me if something is bothering you, and tell me if you know I'm wrong . . . and just so you know, I wanted you to be in charge of the strength training and conditioning for all the students as well as become the weapon's master later on . . . I still do. I didn't forget about you or sideline you, I just considered the skills you have that out due mine."

Once he finished speaking Dante gingerly picked Crato up over his shoulder and set him down against a tree. His face was bloodied from a few cuts and a nasty looking welt on his forehead but his breathing was steady so Lucian knew he wasn't in any danger so far.

"Velvet . . ." Dante called ". . . check Crato for any serious injury. Lucian you are in charge and so begin the training however you see fit. Athena, you assist between training and watching for any Grimm."

"And you?" asked Lucian.

Dante picked up one of his machetes and bag as he looked over his shoulder "Getting supplies and dinner" he answered before he ran into the forest, disappearing in the thick brush.

"Great" Lucian huffed as he turned to look at the others. Velvet was already beside Crato inspecting his head. Athena seemed to be heavy in thought as she stared at where Dante left. Teams RWBY and JNPR were all looking at him, waiting for directions. He rubbed the back of his head as he thought up what to do. With the spectacle they just saw, they weren't exactly in the best mind set to start training. He looked around the clearing, mainly focusing on the river before thoughts of food popped up. He got an idea.

"Ok, I want Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune to search the area for tinder and dry branches for a fire. Yang, Ren, and Pyrrha will collect all the water bottles and go fill them up for everyone. Nora and Blake, help me clear out a few trees for training materials. Velvet, join us when you are done. Athena, you watch our backs for any Grimm. Once everyone is done with your job, we'll start training. Now move out" he instructed.

The teens dispersed to do their chores while Athena kept an eye out. Lucian spotted the first tree he wanted to use and started to walk towards it, Nora and Blake on toe. '_Well, let's make this interesting shall we?'_

* * *

**_Author's Rant:_ Well . . . shit got serious. This is going to be interesting.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed! Follow~Favorite~Review!**


	21. At Fault

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Been a while since I posted. (Summer work) I'm not going to put much commentary on this one, just let it play out. Got a few messages about how many agree with Crato. I'm glad you do, it was meant to start building on his character and how the team needs to develop. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

**Beta: yuvinile**

* * *

"Are you really going to try that?"

"Why not? Blake and even Velvet liked it"

"Yeah but still, that's just weird"

"Weiss, you have to be a little more adventurous"

"One thing is being adventurous and another is eating Grimm meat, Xia-Long"

"Oh come on . . ."

Athena watched the white and yellow duo bicker over the steaming piece of meat cooking over the fire. After Dante had left and the teens had finished their chores, Lucian had them do an extensive set of push-ups, squats, lounges, sit-ups, and suicide runs until they were ready to drop all the while he took the three trees they took down and divided them up into eight foot segments before burying the ends two feet into the ground to form six log pillars meant to be punched or kicked.

He even found some vines and moss to form cushion pads along the sides for kicking. Then he took several large stones, about the size of large bowling balls and used his claws to carve grips into them to make about ten rock weights. Lastly he took four larger boulders, about five feet tall, and carved them until the resembled a human with clearly defined head, shoulders, and holes to form armpits while the legs remained as one solid pillar.

Once he finished his little projects he divided the teens up and assigned them exercises using the stones or log pillars. Ren and Jaune were put to do squats and suicide runs repeatedly while each carrying a stone weight. Yang and Nora were each given a pair of the rock weights and told to hold them up at the sides while maintaining a squatting position until Lucian told them to stop. Athena found that particularly difficult to watch.

Then Weiss and Ruby were each placed in front of a log pillar and taught how to properly do a roundhouse kick and instructed to remain kicking until told otherwise. Pyrrha was given one of the statues and taught a form of shoulder toss which she employed against the statues, using the holes meant to be armpits as the leverage points. Then Blake and Velvet were given the last of the weights and told to do lounges while holding the weights out and swing each arm back and forth with each step.

Athena had been through hell for training and even she thought Lucian's methods were somewhat evil. She was sure that not even military personal are trained like this but, if it meant that they could improve faster, so be it. They had stayed like that with thirty minute breaks after every hour until Dante got back, which was nearly five hours later. He had filled his bag with a variety of herbs found in the forest along with two deer and a Boaratusk, all tied to a twelve foot log he was carrying with the bodies already skinned and gutted. He also was carrying what Athena later confirmed were Ursa spikes under his arm and tied up with a bark rope.

He quickly started a fire, very discreetly with his semblance while the teens were still training, and cut up large slices of deer and Boaratusk meat before sticking them on the Ursa spikes and placed them over the fire. Afterwards he announced that they were done for the day. Every single teen dropped like puppets with no strings, that is, until the smell of cooking meat got to them. They ran for the food so fast some grabbed the Grimm meat without noticing the distinctly different coloration and chowed down.

It had been rather amusing to watch some of them realize what they had eaten after going for a second helping though Blake and Velvet seemed to like it and willingly had more. Athena had never thought that she would see the day a herbivore faunus eat dark meat and a Grimm at that but Dante had said they would develop changes based on their Alpha and apparently becoming carnivorous was one of them. Lucian also gladly went for the Grimm meat though he preferred it more to the rare side, at one point just ripping a clean chunk of the Grimm's back meat off and eating it in a few bites.

She herself tried some as well but the taste, though it did remind her of pork, was rather gamy and had too many muscle fibers for her taste. Now some of the few who had not eaten Grimm meat by chance were getting curious, namely Yang and Nora, though Weiss was clearly against it since she as well had avoided the meat by chance. As they continued to bicker back and forth, Athena made a quick check of the others. Most were sitting around the fire enjoying the warmth, some laughing at the white and blonde duo going back and forth. Lucian himself was sitting on top of one of the log pillars watching over everyone. Dante, Blake, and Velvet had left into the woods after they had eaten. Dante had said he still needed to do some private training and told them not to expect their return any time soon.

Lastly was Crato, still asleep after getting his beating though the welt on his head didn't look so bad anymore thanks to Velvet. Athena wasn't too sure how she would handle it if he did wake up anytime soon, after all when that little fiasco happened she had been more than ready to bash him in the head. What he said hurt, it was true that physically she was the weak link but that didn't mean that she wouldn't try her best to still help the team however she could. Then there was the part about Dante holding her hand, but it wasn't fair for Crato to bring up something so personal as a flaw in leadership, especially in front of the students.

She had also been worried that Dante might actually kill him, but when he didn't and even said an apology while asking for forgiveness for his actions as a leader, Athena had felt both relief and somewhat proud of Dante. She knew that two weeks ago he would have killed Crato the moment he started to badmouth anyone but now he tried his best to control his anger and learn from others. Crato himself had gotten very lucky also since any other commander would have had him lashed for such an outburst or even expelled from their unit. Dante had not only forgiven him but expressed that he still wanted his help.

She sighed to herself as she stared into the fire, wondering just what was going through Dante's mind when he said that and just what really was bothering Crato to the point he would act like that. She had asked Lucian what he thought about the entire situation earlier but he just said that he didn't really have much of an opinion.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a light groan come from her right. She turned to see Crato stirring as he leaned against a tree, one hand gingerly holding his head. The others soon quieted down as they noticed the waking Slayer, all eyes turning on him.

He opened his eyes and looked around before speaking "Damn, how long was I out?"

"Six hours or so" answered Athena.

Crato looked like he was about to try to stand but then Pyrrha spoke up "Um Crato, I wouldn't try to get up. Velvet said she wasn't sure if there wasn't any serious damage she couldn't see and advised that you stay put till tomorrow."

Crato let out a defeated sigh as he leaned back, his hands falling limp on his lap. After a few moments of tense silence he spoke. "Looks like I got the shit beaten out of me."

"That one way of putting it" Athena commented.

". . ."

"Anything else you want to say?" she continued.

Crato looked at her as he spoke ". . . I'm sorry about what I said . . . I was just frustrated."

"That doesn't exactly excuse you" she replied testily.

"I know . . . but I guess I should start making amends somewhere" he said apologetically .

"Feeling remorseful after getting off easy? You could have received worse" she said. Crato nodded, aware that she was right.

"There is worse punishment!?" Jaune asked with an incredulous look.

"Wasn't having your face buried enough?" added Pyrrha.

"No, once you become Hunters, acts of disrespect and blatant disregard of orders from a higher up can be punished with anything from lashes to imprisonment and dismemberment" answered Lucian as he walked over from dismounting the pillar.

The teens looked at him in shock as he sat done beside the fire, his face solemn and serious.

"You are lucky he was so forgiving . . . I wouldn't have been" Lucian continued in an even tone.

Crato nodded gravely, understanding that his words could have meant serious punishment yet all he received was a good knock out.

"How much did you hear about what he said?" asked Athena.

"I blacked out just after he finished saying how he still wants me to help training" answered Crato.

"And will you?" she asked.

" . . . Only if everyone is ok with it as well" he answered as he looked around at each student.

Each slowly nodded until Crato looked directly at Athena. She still felt somewhat angry and knew that she and Crato needed to have a serious talk now.

"Not until I get an explanation" she said firmly.

Crato didn't seem surprised as he waited for her to begin.

"Why didn't you say anything when I asked last night? This whole thing could have been handled before you and Dante needed to fight it out."

Crato seemed hesitant to answer, his gaze drifting to the fire rather than meet Athena's angry eyes.

"I didn't say anything because I didn't think you would even care or do anything about it"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because . . . these last few days, every time I met up with you or Dante, all I got were annoyed looks. You and Dante have been ignoring everyone else lately aside from Blake or Velvet. Can't really blame me for feeling left out"

Athena stayed silent, thinking back through the week. '_He's right . . . ever since we talked about the outpost, I've almost always hung around Dante and almost seemed to avoid Crato.' _She looked down into the flames, feeling shameful for treating Crato that way. He may have been insensitive about Dante's situation with the pack but he had still apologized afterwards.

" . . . I'm sorry . . ." she said in a whisper, almost too low for Crato to hear.

She glanced at him, his face stoic as he nodded to her apology.

"Is that why you didn't like it when I gave the directions for how to handle the intruders?" she asked softly.

"Somewhat . . . it just brought up some old wounds" he answered.

"Old wounds?"

"Yeah . . . I guess you could say I used to always be the underdog. Always had to fight tooth and nail for what I wanted or needed. After an incident that happened back in my training days in Atlas . . . I got fed up of being treated differently or not being recognized for what I could do, so went solo."

"What incident?" she asked.

"That is something for another time" Lucian interjected.

Athena looked at him, her curiosity growing but Lucian's face didn't leave any room to pursue the subject. He quickly glanced at the teens beside them before looking back at her intently. '_Not something for the students to hear huh? Then I guess we will have to talk it out alone some time'_

She looked back at Crato as she continued. "So it wasn't really me that you were angry at?"

"Well, not exactly. I was angry at you but the reasons weren't fully your fault" he explained.

"I see . . ."

"But you know . . . if it hadn't been for you, who knows who we could have lost in the attack. I should have given you credit for the plan" he added.

She gave him a thankful smile. '_I judged you too quick . . . I'll try harder to be a better teammate'_

"So . . ." Crato continued after some silence ". . . where is he anyway?"

"He left into the woods with Velvet and Blake to do some secret training" answered Ruby as she turned to look at the dark forest behind them.

"I wonder what's so secret about it" commented Weiss as she nibbled on some venison.

Lucian starts to chuckle earning a few confused looks. "Sorry . . ." he says as he looks away from the fire ". . . just getting a little nostalgic with how I was trained but don't worry, they should be fine . . . mostly."

'_Great, now we are all worried'_ Athena thought as she reached for a piece of Grimm meat and offered it to Crato. He looked at it questioningly before looking at her.

"You look hungry so start with some Boaratusk meat and besides, it apparently has more nutrition then deer, so eat up if you want to recover" she said.

He sighed in defeat as he took the piece and took a test bite. He scowled but kept eating regardless while Athena returned her attention to the fire, her thoughts focused on what the fauna were up to.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Short chapter, I know. Do not fret, the next part (yes it's a two part instead of a regularly sized chapter) shall be posted soon (I have it done just fine tuning)**

**Comments~Reviews~Feedback are all appreciated and looked forward to.**

**Till next time, Jbubu.**

**PS. I had so much fun with the next scene. **


	22. Who's Wild

**Author's Note: As promises, the second piece to the night of training! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Beta: yuvinile**

* * *

The night air was cool, hardly a breeze was blowing through the forest as she moved silently through the brush. It was a nearly cloudless night, the trees shrouding darkness with the occasional interruption from the moon. She looked around until she spotted a clearing with a large tree overlooking it. '_That's the best spot. If I'm quiet enough I should be able to ambush him' _she thought as she easily climbed the tree and hid on a branch taking her out of view from clearing below. She slowed her breath, biding her time until her target appears.

She looked down at her hands, the unfamiliar sensation of her exposed claws drawing her attention as they hooked into the bark of the tree. A rogue breeze rolled by nearly causing her to jump as it passed over her lower back and tail. She glanced at her rear to another unfamiliar sight, a fluffy brown rabbit's tail peaking over the edge of her black jogging shorts, its sensitivity causing her to twitch with the slightest change in the air. '_Why did I have to have the oversensitive tail? The others didn't seem bothered when the wind picked up but I have to jump with the slightest tickle'_ She puffed out he cheeks in annoyance, hoping that there wouldn't be any other rogue breezes.

She had blushed when Dante instructed her and Blake to reveal their tails and honestly she had misunderstood his meaning. Luckily he had explained what he meant before she ended up doing something embarrassing and she could have sworn he had the faintest blush when he realized what she thought he meant.

Then he revealed his tail and claws as well, the armored scales shimmering in the light of the moon with scarlet edges and the end that looked like it had a feathered pattern tapered to a point. After that Blake showed her tail, a long sleek black tail reaching just over two feet in length. Once they were both comfortable Dante gave them their instructions. He said that he would walk a straight path from where they stood towards the north. They were to go ahead of him and plan ambushes along the way, only allowed to use their claws and instincts to attack however they could. So she and Blake immediately dashed far ahead to get the best advantage they could. She and Blake had split up after some time, each taking to their own methods for how to set a trap since Dante had not specified if he wanted them to attack together.

She was so focused on her thoughts, she nearly missed detecting the approaching presence. She didn't know how to describe it other than that it was like feeling a powerful pressure getting closer. It didn't feel like the killing intent from the previous night, there wasn't any hostility or bloodlust passing through it but even then it felt far more intimidating and unyielding. She had to steel her nerves just to stop herself from running away, waiting for her alpha to appear. '_Ok, this is it. The moment he's close enough I'll pounce down with a falling kick'_ she thought as she lowered her breathing, every fiber in her body going tense as she looked down at the clearing below her.

Her ears started to pick up twigs snapping as he approached, some bushes rustling near the clearing. She held her breath once he appeared, the silver scales along his forearm giving away his position as he walked out. His tail was swinging lazily behind him, a sign that he hasn't detected her yet. '_3 . . . 2 . . . 1!'_ She launched herself with as much force as her legs could muster straight down at him before she stuck her right leg forward, aiming straight for his head.

At the last second he suddenly leaned back, narrowly dodging her foot by inches, causing her foot to strike the ground beside him with a loud crash. She was about to twist on her heel to claw at him but her instincts fired up telling her to jump back so she did. Not a second later she saw Dante's right, clawed hand smash into the ground she had just been stepping on, a crater forming around it.

She felt her ears flatten against her head as she crouched while looking at him. He was staring back at her, still crouched with his claws buried, dragon eyes looking into rabbit eyes. She was scared, no denying it, but right now she knew she had to attack. She snarled at him, teeth bared as she prepared to launch another attack. He reciprocated with a growl, not as loud as her snarl and his teeth were still hidden yet the power and dominance was clear. She ignored her rising panic and burst forward, her left going for clawing at his face. He tilted out of the strike, returning with kick that she managed to step out of. She then jumped up and used a roundhouse kick but he simply blocked with his hand, latching onto her shin. She didn't hesitate as she threw a right cross while her leg was still in his grip but he blocked with his other hand though this time she retracted her fist before he could hold on.

She was about to kick with her free leg when he suddenly pulled her around and threw her at the tree she had hidden on. Her back smashed into the trunk, the bark splintering around her as the pain shot through her. She crumpled to the ground on her hands and knees, too jarred from the hit to stand. She looked up to see him approaching, his eyes locking with hers again. She forced herself on her feet, the pain still keeping her on shaky legs. Just then a shadow appeared out of nowhere and punched Dante straight across the cheek before jumping back. Velvet took a moment to register it as Blake, her ears flat against her head and tail arched up as she snarled at Dante as well. He didn't look surprised at all as he smirked at her even with the faintest bruise forming on his cheek.

"Excellent Blake, waiting for your target to get distracted before you attack. You also hide your presence relatively well but your execution needs practice otherwise the counters will be more severe," he said.

Velvet didn't get what he meant until she noticed the smell of blood. She looked at Blake and for the first time noticed that the skin along her forearm, the one she punched Dante with, was cut with three-inch long tears running perpendicular to her arm bleeding. '_When did he do that!? I thought she got a clean hit!'_

"Looks like you aren't going to go easy on us" Blake replied, seemingly not minding the injury.

"What would be the fun in that?" he replied still smirking. "Now bring it, both of you."

Velvet and Blake looked at each other for a moment before they nodded and started to circle him together. After a minute or so of staring off, Blake was the first to attack with a flurry of claws. Dante dodged most with the occasional claw strike of his own, but Blake managed to avoid them. Velvet soon joined the fray, attacking in turn with Blake, trying to get past Dante's defense.

She was so caught up in offense she nearly didn't react in time to Dante's hand. She tilted her head to side as one of his claws cut a fine line across her cheek. She hissed at the stinging sensation but kept up the pressure on her attack, knowing that if she let up they were done for.

Blake kept ducking in and out as she tried to flank him but the lack of semblance put her in a severe disadvantage. Dante didn't even seem to be tiring at all, the small bruise Blake had given him already gone. She went for a feint but Dante wasn't fooled and before Blake could react he caught her square in the chest with a shove, launching her into another tree. Blake doubled over, the air knocked out of her, as Velvet tried to keep Dante occupied but to no avail as he soon tripped her up with a leg sweep. She fell hard on her rear and couldn't get up in time to head him off as he maneuvered towards Blake. Luckily she noticed him approaching and ducked to the side in the nick of time as Dante clawed at the trunk, four lines gouged clean into the base.

Velvet watched in disbelief as the tree fell backwards, the trunk cut clean where Dante's claws had passed. '_H-He really isn't holding back . . . if she hadn't dodged she would have been minced'_ she thought as she stood up on trembling legs. She looked at Blake, fear clear as day in her eyes as well. Dante turned to look at them, his face serious and eyes hard as steel.

"You need to learn just how scary a fully-fledged faunus can be. Up to this point you've only seen tamed and untrained fauna. Being raised depending on dust and technology, eating overly processed food and relying on the weapons in your hands rather than your natural ability. For the lack of better words you have been raised in domestication and your real strengths have been hidden away. That's why I had you eat Grimm meat and forbade the use of weapons or semblance. You will learn what it truly is to be a faunus, to have true strength, and to feel true fear" he said.

As he spoke, Velvet knew what he was saying was true, she felt it in the core of her being. A part of her had always felt off, like something was missing, out of place. She had always chalked it up to being around humans but now she knew better. When she ate the Grimm meat, she felt revitalized, her depleted body recovering faster than she could ever remember and her senses fine tuning to a point she didn't know they could. Even now she could feel the cut on her cheek healing, the pain from her back already fading and with a glance at Blake's arm, and she could see the tears were already half the size from before.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, focusing on goal of attacking, as her legs stopped shaking. She glanced at Blake again. Blake wasn't trembling anymore either and looked determined to continue. She looked back at Dante to see he was giving them a proud smile. She felt her own lips form into a smile as well as she crouched, preparing to attack. A few moments passed before she launched forward, a punch aimed for his gut.

He caught the punch but was pushed back, his feet gouging out the ground beneath him. Before he could counter Blake appeared at his side and kicked at his head. He ducked under as he kicked out at her across the back while pulling Velvet off her feet and threw her at another tree. This time she reacted in time to twist midair and land with her feet against the trunk. She instantly jumped back at him, the wood splintering from the force, as she went for a tackle.

He noticed her and hopped over her while simultaneously dodging Blake's leg sweep. She dug her feet into the ground to halt her momentum and managed to wheel around in time to see Dante try to knee Blake but she blocked it with crossed arms. In that moment she knew he was distracted and had only his right leg planted on the ground.

She took the opening and went for a full power leg kick aimed at his shin. Her own shin made contact before he noticed, a shockwave ringing out from the impact, but the moment it did she felt a snap come from her shin. It took a second before a searing pain shot up her leg, causing her to scream in pain as she tumbled backwards while clutching at her shin.

She had broken bones before during hunts or training but had never hit anything hard enough to damage her legs, her strongest appendages. Now she was milling on the ground, hot tears stinging at the back of her eyes trying to break loose, feeling the pain of a broken leg for the first time. Her eyes were clamped shot but she felt Dante pick her up and gently rest her against a tree.

She slowly opened them to see Dante inspecting her leg while Blake looked at her with worry. Dante didn't look too worried but he still seemed upset about something as he lightly traced along her shin until he touched the spot that hurt the most causing her to yelp in pain. His hand stopped over the spot and even more softly traced horizontally around the shin.

"Is she going to be ok?" asked Blake in a worried tone.

"Yeah, it's a clean fracture. She won't be able to walk back but after some food and proper sleep she should be fine" he answered as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry, I should have been more careful" he apologized.

"Why? I'm the one that attacked you" she replied, her voice a little strained as she fought back the tears.

"Doesn't matter, I should have been aware of all your attacks and dodged them if I knew they would have backlash" he replied in a sorry tone.

"It's ok, we both slipped up" she said with a forced smile. She wanted it to be earnest but her damn leg hurt too much to let her.

He didn't look convinced but nodded anyways before glancing at Blake. "We are done today. You two did great tonight, I'm proud of you both. Let's had back for some well-earned rest"

"Ok" Blake replied as she straightened up. Velvet heard the sounds of bones popping and realized both Dante and Blake were retracting their tails into their bodies as well as their claws. She focused on her own tail and claws for a moment before her tiny tail and claws disappeared, concealed within her body again.

Dante then gingerly picked Velvet up bridal-style, taking care not to jostle around her injured shin. They then started to walk back calmly, not in any sort of rush. Velvet laid her head against his chest, her arms curled up on her stomach, as they walked. Her eyes started to feel heavy as the warmth of Dante's arms and chest soothed her. It was strange but she felt so safe with him and Blake, unlike any other time she could remember from her past. Even though her team had accepted her for being a faunus she always felt different, misplaced, and lonely at times but now, even though they were walking through a Grimm infested forest in the middle of the night, she felt secure.

She snuggled her head closer, her eyes finally closing from the exhaustion of the day, as she took comfort in the sound of his heart beat lolling her to sleep. The last thing she heard was the faintest humming resonating from within his chest, as a genuine smile traced her lips, before she passed out.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Ahhh . . . Isn't that sweet. Pack bonding along with some primal fighting.**

**Hope everyone enjoyed and see you next time!**

**Comments~Feedback~Opinions are welcome!**


	23. Startling Developments

**Author's Note: Let us end this training and get back to more plot development! Lot of work went into this chapter and I hope everyone enjoys the product.**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Oh come on Weiss, stretching isn't that bad."

"You're trying to make me do a split!"

"Oy, if you can't even get your leg past my shoulder how do expect to be able to kick someone in the face?"

"I'll cut them down to size or something!"

"Oh quit the complaining or I'll push harder."

"W-Wait! Wait! Ok, I'll stop."

"About time"

". . ."

It was turning out to be a rather interesting morning. After Dante had returned with Velvet asleep in his arms and Blake beside him, the group of teens and fellow Slayers had become very chatty. It was a mixed welcome, some teasing how he was carrying Velvet while others noted the injuries such as Blake's arm and the bruising around Velvet's leg. He explained how she got the injury but didn't go into any more details about the training. After everyone settled down, he woke Velvet up and cooked some more Grimm meat for her and Blake. Then while they ate Dante had a quick talk with Crato.

It was odd at first, Dante unsure of how Crato would act considering the ass-kicking so he resorted to apologizing first. It seemed to do the trick and the conversation started to flow better. In the end they agreed to work together to improve the team relations and try to understand each other. Thinking back on it, it had been an interesting conversation . . .

* * *

Dante sat down beside Crato after giving Blake and Velvet their snacks. Everyone else was more or less ready to hit the sack but he still felt like he should speak with Crato before heading to bed. They sat slightly apart from the rest so they had relative privacy, though at the moment all it was doing was adding some very awkward tension.

Dante took the initiative and broke the ice. "So Crato, I wanted to apologize for my behavior these past few days."

"Didn't you already apologize," Crato retorted as he took a bite of some venison.

"Yes, but I wanted to do it this time without you having your face buried in the ground."

Crato smirked at that, one of his hands touching the welt still present on his forehead.

"It's funny . . . I can't remember the last time I got my ass handed to me like that," he chuckled.

"Hope we don't need to add any more to the list," Dante commented as he looked at the others sitting near a fire.

"I do think you overdid it a little," said Crato testily.

"Well I went with quick knock out so I didn't make it exactly pretty" he returned.

"Nailing me in the back of the head with a drop axle" Crato deadpanned. Dante just shrugged, not really having any defense for that.

"Ok, maybe that one was for all the joking and teasing this past week" he admitted.

Crato sighed. "Can't blame you, I probably would have done the same thing, maybe worse."

Dante chuckled lightly before his tone got serious. "So tell me Crato. What is really bothering you?"

Crato looked at him, his expression solemn. "Honestly, I rather not go into details but if you really want to know I just don't want to be treated like the runner up. Give me equal consideration to Lucian and Athena, not just blow me off like this past week."

"Tall order but I'll try. Then I need you to bury whatever beef you got with Athena. I don't know why you got especially cross with her but it ends now. I'm sure there are things you don't know about each other so judging one another won't help."

"Easier said than done. I know she tries to avoid me lately and I bet she's really pissed at me now."

"You won't know unless you actually talk to her. Maybe ask her about herself without all your lame jokes and teasing," he said.

"Lame jokes?" Crato asked incredulously.

"Yes" he deadpanned. "Quit the clown act and try to have a serious conversation."

"Not going to sugarcoat it are you?" Crato grumbled.

"Never do" he replied as he stood up.

"Just so you know, we will have a rematch some time and the results are going to be very different" Crato challenged seriously.

Dante smirked at him. "I'll look forward to it" he said as he walked away.

* * *

Once everything was done Dante called for bedtime, promising the teens that they had another full day of wonders waiting, earning a wondrous variety of groans and pleas for mercy. Once everyone was in their sleeping bags, some in small tents they brought along, Dante himself decided to sleep in a tree overlooking the camp. That got him some weird looks and questions but he just waved them off. He had avian genes from his mother and found it comfortable to be above the ground so, he got comfy. He and Lucian had also settled on taking three hour shifts to watch for any Grimm but luckily nothing bothered them that night.

In the morning he had a bit of a rude wake up call. Apparently Yang thought it would be funny to spook him awake and convinced Ruby to climb up but it didn't go as they'd expected. Dante was used to getting wake up calls from Athena or more specifically her scent, not Ruby's, so the moment Ruby landed on the same branch he was on, he jumped awake and ended up startling her instead. The only problem with that was Ruby lost her balance and fell backwards nearly thirty feet from the ground. In retrospect she would have been fine but in the heat of the moment he dove after her and caught her in his arms before twisting in the air so he ended up landing on his back with Ruby's added weight.

After getting up and scolding Ruby for being reckless he got a hold of Yang and went with the most fitting punishment. It was early so he tossed her into the river and let the cold water exact justice. If anyone else thought they could get away with some kind of prank before, now they would think twice about it. Afterwards everyone ate some breakfast, mostly snacks they had packed and some leftover meat from dinner.

Once fed, Lucian and Crato, who was feeling much better after a full night's rest, started the teens on their morning exercises while Dante gave Velvet's leg a quick once over before allowing her to join the others. The fracture was mostly healed and Velvet said it just felt sore so Dante gave her the ok though during the combat training he would give her exercises that don't focus on the legs.

That's exactly what he was doing presently. Dante had each of his pupils stretching to loosen the muscles before he started with teaching them kickboxing though the moment he saw that Weiss was as stiff as a rock he decided to maintain her in stretching while Velvet and Blake each practiced punches and elbow strikes against the log pillars. He also heard similar complaints coming from Jaune where Athena was training her pupils. It seemed that she had discovered the same problem with him and now had him touching his toes with a flat rock resting on his legs to prevent any bending of the knees.

Dante had Weiss sitting with her legs spread apart as she reached forward, every so often applying pressure to her back to make her stretch more. '_How long have we been at this? Two hours maybe . . . should be enough for now' _he thought as he let up the pressure and removed his hand from her back before stepping around her to offer her a hand up.

As he helped her stand he spoke "Ok, that is enough for stretching. Now we are going to go into stances and footwork"

"Why not striking like Blake and Velvet?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because they both already have some experience fighting unarmed so they already have more or less solid stances. You don't and if you don't master that first, it doesn't matter if you can throw a perfect punch. It won't carry any force and your defense will not hold against any counter," he explained.

"Ok, that makes sense," she agreed.

"Now . . ." he began ". . . since you are a lefty, I want you to place your legs shoulder width apart, left leg farther back to hold your weight. Move your right leg up and focus on the ball of your foot and keep the knee slightly bent. Raise both arms up, right leading the left and a little closer than shoulder width, and keep your back straight . . . good. Now then I want you to stand normally and hop into that exact stance for the next thirty minutes. When I check back on you I want to see you nail that position perfectly on reflex."

Weiss nodded and starting going back and forth between the beginners' starting stance and standing regularly. While she was preoccupied Dante walked over to Athena who seemed to be waiting for him. He looked at her pupils and saw that she had Jaune doing push-ups with Ruby sitting on his back while Yang was holding a handstand, her face cherry red.

"I think her head might pop if she stays like that" he said as he stopped beside her.

"Oh she'll be fine. Might help her reflect on this morning" Athena replied jokingly.

"It's better. I swear next time I'm going to give her a haircut or something," he continued.

"Now that's just mean Dante. Come on, if it had been Ruby's idea you would have forgiven her."

Dante couldn't deny that. He knew he had a soft spot for Ruby ever since he helped her handle the issue with Weiss. Truth be told, he was already starting to care immensely for the entire team and wanted to help them grow and protect them but he needed to learn to not play favorites. '_I wonder if Blake or Velvet would get jealous if I spoil Ruby?'_ He was entrenched in his thoughts until Athena cleared her throat to get his attention.

"So, did the testing go as you had hoped?" she asked innocently.

"They did well. Still have a ways to go in learning about what they can really do and how to work as a pack but overall they did better than I originally expected," he answered.

"How so?"

"They managed to control their fears enough to fight me in earnest and worked together at the end. It's common for faunus to be incapacitated by fear when confronted by a stronger individual, their instincts turning to run or surrender even if it means abandoning one of their own. The only way to overcome that instinct is for constant, controlled exposure to real danger. I purposely allowed my aura to radiate around me to scare them and see if they could resist their desire to run. They did just that."

"But I thought you said that they needed to connect to those instincts to become true faunus?"

"They do but without having a balance between the animal instinct and human logic, they will become slaves to one or the other. This exposure allows the logic to adjust and balance what's written in their genes allowing them to act under pressure and take the best course of action."

"Oh . . . ok, that makes sense. So what's next?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, perplexed.

"After we get back to Beacon. What do you want to do?"

He thought for a moment, not too sure himself of what was next. This whole weekend had been on reflex to the attack. He planned to continue the training but other than that he didn't know.

"I honestly not sure . . . I think I'll ask Ozpin if we can do some private investigation into this 'mistress', whoever she may be" he answered.

"It has you that worried?" she asked, the worry in her own voice poorly concealed.

He took a deep breath and nodded as he released it. The events of that night worried him more than he wanted to admit. If it was someone from Mount Othrys, then they had far more to be concerned about than originally thought. It may have been true that he may have been the strongest of his class and possibly one of the strongest to ever graduate from that academy…but anyone that made it there was a monster.

There had been plenty of strong, up and coming students when he was a senior and the halls were filled with stories of past classes and their own rulers. With the current ability he'd seen, only the Slayers are strong enough to face someone from that academy and even then he couldn't be sure if there was more than one.

He also had the nagging suspicion that this 'mistress' is an Alpha as well. That snake faunus was strong, no question about it, so for her to concede to another means that this mistress is far stronger and only an Alpha can fill that order. '_But who!? There weren't any other Alphas besides me and . . . her.'_

He thought back to that night after graduation, after he had massacred every single person who had tried to kill him.

When he said he hadn't looked back as he left, he lied.

He had glanced back before leaving and he saw something that could not be mistaken. When she was crying over her sister, her eyes weren't the human eyes he'd known for two years . . . no, her irises were blood red like her hair and had expanded to cover the whites of her eyes, her pupils became slits.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Athena tapped him on the shoulder making him flinch, her eyes full of concern.

"Dante, are you ok? You looked like you were really caught up in something" she asked.

"Don't worry . . . it's nothing, just reminiscing about something" he half-lied. He didn't want to worry her over something he wasn't even sure of but she didn't look convinced.

"Let's just focus on the training for now" he said quickly trying to change the subject. Whether by coincidence or luck, Jaune happened to give out on his push-ups so Athena had to head over to instruct on the next workout. As she walked away, he turned back to look at Weiss still practicing the Savate stance though her foot placement was off. He sighed as he walked over, relieved to have a distraction from his thoughts.

* * *

He looked at the murky liquid in front of him, steam wafting off the hot beverage as it sat on his desk. It was late into the night and yet he still had many arrangements to make. The sudden attack, the death of a student, and the ominous words left by one of the intruders. Then there was the matter of unrest within the kingdoms. Requests for Ghost intervention was skyrocketing as highly influential individuals were being killed, technology stolen, and even strange increases in robberies. Something big is coming and he knew it.

He reclined in his chair, rubbing his temples as the headache made itself known. He didn't even bother to look at the door when he heard someone come in. He knew who it was and at the moment didn't really want the heated conversation that was obviously inbound.

"Ozpin" said Glynda in a harsh voice.

"Hmm?" he groaned out.

"There isn't any time for you to be slacking, have you read through the documents Ironwood sent you?" she asked.

"I have . . . and it seems things are only getting worse," he answered as he corrected his position.

"So what are the details?" she inquired.

"Do you remember the outpost near the Razorback Mountains within the borders of Atlas?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Well, that outpost suddenly went silent about four months ago. The Atlas council kept it under wraps while they sent some hunters to investigate . . ."

" . . . What did they find?"

"Ashes . . . nothing more, nothing less" he answered gravely.

"You mean an entire outpost of some 250 residents was wiped out over night!?" she asked incredulously.

Ozpin nodded, his brows furrowed in thought. "Yes. The outpost was already designated as a high risk operation and with the reports from the hunters it was officially abandoned."

"So why is it relevant now?" she asked.

"Because . . . there has been signs of activity in the area."

"Do we know who?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No idea, a team of seasoned hunters was sent in to find out but they never returned. It has been two weeks so it can be assumed that they are dead."

"Then why not send in a full military unit to search the area and eradicate whatever opposition they may find?" she asked crossly.

"The situation is more complicated than that."

"How so?"

"In the time the activity was first detected there has been a number of kidnappings around nearby villages and towns."

"Kidnappings?"

"Yes . . . but the most disturbing details are that they have been children ranging from eight-years-old to fifteen-years-old and mostly fauna."

Glynda looked at him in shock, her mouth gaping at a loss for words.

"There are suspicions that these children may be held captive within the area and so would be put at risk if a military contingent were sent in. For now, the council has opted to wait and watch."

"But the children could be killed if they don't act!"

"I know . . . but it seems that regardless of what reasons we give them the council rejects the choice of sending in 'Slayer' class hunters. Ironwood has tried to deploy his own Templar team but is under heavy watch."

"So our hands are tied then?" she deadpanned.

"Not exactly . . . there is more," he answered.

"Oh?"

"There are signs of disagreement within the council, some supporting action while others favor staying away. Now that isn't uncommon but some of the supporters for investigating have been experiencing some rather . . . misfortunate events."

"How so?"

"The public have received news of strange accidents claiming council member lives but further investigation has proven the cases to be systematic murder."

"So you believe there is foul play at work?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, and it just so happens that one of the council members favoring inaction will be in Vale in three weeks' time, attending a rather select event. I will have the Ghosts infiltrate and question this council member for any information he might have on the operations in the Razorback Mountains."

"But wouldn't you risk being traced back from the Ghosts?" she asked.

"Not if a particular dragon happens to silence said member . . . if they do know something," Ozpin said coldly. "Besides, it just so happens that our current batch of Ghosts all have backgrounds in targeting highly guarded individuals. It wouldn't be a challenge for them at all."

"And if the councilmen does have information?"

"We will plan an undercover excursion to the area. Since many of the children are faunas, Lucian and Dante should have no problem tracking them down and will have the advantage in mountain combat," he explained.

"So you'll send all six there or just Dante and Lucian?"

"All seven actually"

"What? You've already found a new member?" Glynda asked.

"I have been speaking to Ironwood extensively and with the intruders and occurrences around the kingdoms, we agreed that filling the Slayer ranks as soon as possible would benefit us greatly. Therefore I searched out for any promising individuals that would take the offer and found one from Vacuo," he explained.

"Who?"

"A rather young yet accomplished huntress with an impressive track record. She should be here any minute."

As if on cue there was a knocking at the door. "Come in," Ozpin called.

Through the door came a women, about 22 years old and about six feet tall by the looks of it, dressed in slim fit black jeans, a white tank top, a black leather jacket, and calf high leather boots. Strapped to her back was a nearly seven foot red spear, the head a foot long double-edged blade tapered to a fine point. It also had gold coloration running the length and even the blade looking like nerves.

The woman was a beauty, no doubt about it, her almost chestnut skin marking her as exotic yet the features that caught his attention most were her eyes, a shade of dark red that looked as if her irises had been dipped in fine wine. Her hair was also a deep shade of crimson from the roots to the tips, lightly cascading over her shoulders. Lastly were the ears peeking out from the top of her head, lion ears colored in a lighter shade of red than the rest of her hair.

"Welcome Ms. Nyekundu. I am professor Ozpin, director and headmaster of this academy and head of the Slayer program here. This is Glynda Goodwitch, headmistress" he introduced.

"Hello" the lioness replied in a strong yet feminine voice.

"I trust your trip was quick and uneventful?" Ozpin inquired.

"Pleasant enough. The trip was smoother than I remember, then again it is very different to ride in a military transport rather than public methods," she replied.

"Now that pleasantries are finished, to business. You have been informed of the situation and your placement correct?"

She nodded. "I am to join a currently incomplete team with two current 'Slayers'. Foxfire and Lucifer I believe"

"Yes, and your ID?"

"Sekhmet"

"Correct, and the other details?"

"Until the team is complete, we shall be under the command of team ASCZ's leader, Silver."

"Very good. Now, do you have your scroll up to date and the location of your dorm?"

"Yes"

"You will find two uniforms, one for classes and another for operations in your room, along with a small caliber gun fitted with specialized rounds. Your schedule will be sent to you shortly and we shall decide on a team for you to mentor like the other Slayers."

"What team do you have in mind?" asked Glynda, her eyes still fixed on the lioness.

Ozpin took a sip of coffee as he contemplated a team to give their newest Slayer. There was one team that came to mind and certainly needed some guidance though it could backfire.

"I was considering team CRDL actually" he muttered.

"What!?" Glynda shouted as she looked at him in disbelief. "You want a team that is known to insult faunus, mentored by new Slayer that could possibly kill them!?"

"I was thinking that who better teach them about fauna than an actual faunus" he defended.

"Foxfire already doesn't like that team and I know Silver can't be trusted around them, he nearly killed one of his own mentees." Glynda continued.

"We don't know the full details behind that but he has more than made up for it," Ozpin retorted.

"His temper can't be controlled!"

"I don't believe he needs to be controlled, just aimed. Regardless, it won't be Silver mentoring them so I do believe you are overreacting and besides, Lucifer can be asked to watch them in case of anything."

"It's a grave mistake," Glynda said darkly.

"There hasn't been a decision yet so stop worrying," he said as he focused back on the lioness. "Ms. Adele, a mentee of your teammates will be here shortly to show you too your dorm since she is familiar with the location. Hopefully your teammates shall both be there as well."

"Ok" replied the lioness.

They waited in silence for what felt like an hour until a knocking came from the door.

"Come in" Ozpin called.

At once Coco came in, dressed in jogging shorts and a t-shirt with her hair pulled into a ponytail and her ever present shades. She walked up until she stood beside Ms. Nyekundu.

"Ms. Adele, this is Ms. Nyekundu. She is a new Slayer and will be in the team with Mr. Tiypn and Mr. Aingeal. Please escort her to her dorm so that she can meet her teammates" Ozpin instructed.

"Sure thing" replied Coco as she gestured for the redhead to follow.

Once they were gone Ozpin sighed softly as he looked back at his files.

"You know that doing this is playing with fire, don't you?" Glynda muttered at him.

"Nothing can be achieved if one does not risk something in return," he replied coolly earning a scoff as Glynda walked away.

As the door closed Ozpin turned around and walked towards the view overlooking the academy.

". . . but it's those sacrifices that hurt the most. . ." he whispered to himself, as the moon's light was blacked out by ominous clouds.

* * *

"Was running the whole way back really necessary?" asked Weiss.

"It was more entertaining than walking back," replied Dante ahead of her.

"I'm starting to think you like watching pain," commented Yang.

"Big babies, the lot of you," Dante retorted.

"It's only going to get worse," said Lucian from behind the group.

The teens collectively groaned, some pointedly glaring at him. Even with the harsh regimen, Lucian's training methods were by far the harshest. Even Pyrrha, who arguably was the fittest and well rounded, never lasted longer than an hour against the evil exercises Lucian thought up.

Blake rubbed her shoulders just thinking about what Lucian had put them through. Since he and Crato were given the charge of general fitness and strength training, the teens had been put to every form of physical test to spot weakness. Apparently Lucian thought she really needed more strength training, especially around the arms and had her lifting stone weights repeatedly at the sides while doing lunges. She was sure the slightest tap could knock her arms clean off, the muscles and tendons turned to jelly even with her constantly eating Grimm meat.

Now the group had just arrived back at Beacon. It was probably around midday and Blake wanted nothing more than a bath and to sleep in her bed. Sadly, Dante had received a message from Havasu saying to meet them in one of the arenas to meet someone so they were all heading there now.

Blake looked around, taking in their appearances. Aside from the Slayers, everyone else looked like they had just come from a battlefield. Hair was matted and strewn with leaves and dirt, shirts and shorts stained with mud, and everyone was covered in bruises or scratches. She almost didn't want to look in a mirror, afraid of just how bad she probably looked. She glanced at Velvet for a moment before looking down at her leg.

She thought back to when she heard that sickening crack, how her face contorted in pain as she fell back. Blake had instantly rushed to her side, wanting to help any way she could but wasn't sure how. It was an odd feeling. She knew Velvet was stronger than her yet she felt protective of her and didn't want to see her in any sort of pain. '_Is this what it truly feels like to be in a pack?' _she pondered, not noticing that Dante had stopped moving and so bumping into him.

"Wow Blake. Distracted are we?" he half teased as he looked at her.

"Just thinking about something," she replied quickly, hiding her slight embarrassment.

"Ok, well I need to drop these off at my dorm quick . . ." he said as he gestured to the Ursa spikes he carried back from the training ground ". . . so you guys head to the arena. I'll be there in a few."

"Okay" replied Athena as she continued walking.

Dante dashed away, taking the scenic route to his dorm while the rest kept walking.

"Um, just what is Dante going to do with those spikes anyway?" asked Nora.

"He said something about turning them into arrows for his Artemis bow" answered Athena.

"Really? Wouldn't regular arrows be enough?" asked Jaune.

"No, the bow is too strong to fire regular arrows. He needs them to be made completely of steel or else the shaft will shatter so he wanted to make some out of Ursa spikes," explained Athena.

"Interesting choice," commented Ren.

They walked back the rest of the way in relative silence, getting curious looks from the occasional student that passed their group by. The added attention was making Blake want to shower that much more.

As they arrived at the arena doors, the sounds of combat could be heard from inside along with the scents of the other Slayers, Velvet's team, and one unknown. Once inside Blake's attention was drawn to the current combatants in the arena. There stood Thantos dressed in sweat pants and sleeveless shirt, his sword interlocked the spear of a redheaded women also dressed in an orange sports bra and red jogging shorts. Thantos seemed to be lightly panting, trying to push his sword forward or more like resist the women pushing him back. The women didn't even look like she was having any trouble pushing him back.

After 5 seconds the fighters disengaged the lock, each jumping back several feet, their weapons at the ready. Now Blake got a good look at the women and for the first time noticed the ears at the top of her head. She couldn't place them but they looked feline so she guessed it was some form of cat faunus.

"Wow, she's pretty" Ruby murmured beside her. Blake looked at the others around her but they were all transfixed on the redhead. Blake had to agree. The way her hair framed her face, those feral wine colored eyes, the powerful posture. She seemed so commanding, regal almost as she pointed her spear at her opponent. They squared off in silence until the woman suddenly lunged forward, her movement a blur before she reappeared within Thantos' reach, the point of her spear already under his chin before he could react.

"I win" the faunus said as she lowered the spear.

"Fast one aren't you" Thantos commented as he lowered his blade, looking somewhat annoyed at being so easily bested.

The faunus turned to look at them and Blake had a sudden sense of déjà vu. It was the same intimidating feeling she got whenever Dante or Lucian for that matter gave off whenever they looked at her. Blake's instincts told her that this was not someone to anger in any way, that they were leagues apart and they both knew it. She glanced at Velvet to her left and guessed that she was getting the same feeling, her ears dropping down slightly as she looked back at the faunus.

"Hey guys. How was training?" Coco called as she jogged over to them.

"Painful," some replied in unison.

"Yeah, can't say we got off any better," Coco deadpanned as she stopped in front of them.

Blake looked her over, seeing that she was also covered in an assortment of bruises. She looked to the side of the arena and saw that Yatsu and Fox looked just as beat up while Havasu just looked sweaty but otherwise unmarked.

"So what do you think of the newest Slayer?" Coco asked.

"New Slayer?" asked Crato who was looking intently at the faunus.

"Yep. She's a tough one. Beat Havasu and then Thantos without even breaking a sweat," Coco elaborated.

"Interesting," commented Lucian. For some reason Blake didn't like his tone. It felt dangerous, almost challenging.

Some of the others most have picked up on his tone as they stole nervous glances at him. It looked like he was going to say something but then Dante appeared from the doorway.

"Hey, so what did I miss?" he said as he walked past them before looking at the arena. The moment he saw the faunus he went rigid, his face turned to shock and disbelief as he met eyes with the her.

The air suddenly felt tense as silence took everyone, their attention drawn between Dante and the faunus. Dante's jaw went slack as he stared at her, at a complete loss for words while the faunus seemed to look somewhat angry, a frown adorning her face as she stared daggers at him.

"It's been a while . . . Silver Demon" she spat venomously.

The other's faces turned to surprise as she called Dante by that name. Blake looked at Dante, trying to read his expression but his eyes looked glazed over, caught up in whatever memory had been brought back at being called that.

" . . . K-Kiara . . ." he whispered.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Oh Shit! This is not going to be pretty. **

**Till next time ladies and gentlemen, hope you enjoyed!**

**Favorite~Follow~Review~Comment!**


	24. Queen vs Demon

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Been a while since I posted but I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long!**

**Dramatic chapter if I do say so myself. Hope everyone enjoys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile, noobalisious**

* * *

" . . . K-Kiara . . ."

No one moved as Dante uttered that name, his eyes contorted in shock, his voice pained. Athena looked back at the faunus, her crimson hair, the cat ears that adorned her head . . . no, not cat, they were definitely lion ears. She knew without a shadow of a doubt who this person was.

"The Bloody Queen" she whispered in a mix of awe and worry. Some of the teens looked at her, finally connecting the dots as to who she was. Athena could tell that she was angry, her ears tilting back as she continued to glare at Dante, who was still rigid, as if fixed to the spot.

'_This is bad! If she attacks, we are screwed and Dante looks like he is in shock'_ She reached out and placed her hand on his arm to try to give him some comfort but immediately retracted her hand with a yelp. Dante's arm felt like it was burning and with closer inspection she could see the faintest heat distortion coming off his arms.

"D-Dante . . . you need to relax . . . if your semblance activates everyone will be in danger" she spoke softly as she took a step back. The others mirrored her action, knowing that if Dante really was at a tipping point they needed to get some distance. Even Lucian and Crato backpedaled, neither intent on getting in the crosshairs.

"What's wrong Demon? You look like you just saw a ghost or something" Kiara called out, her voice laced with contempt.

As she spoke the distortion around Dante increased, his frame literally steaming. Athena could feel the temperature increasing to uncomfortable levels. She looked down at his feet, attracted by the sound of tiles breaking and was shocked to see that even the stone tiles were starting to melt wherever his feet were touching. She looked back at his face that was now tilted down, his eyes obscured by his hair as he breathed heavily. There was more steam emanating from his mouth and it looked like a silver and reddish glow was coming from the back of his mouth, as if a light was on inside.

"Did I strike a nerve? Better get those emotions under some control Demon. After all, it would be a shame for you to incinerate everyone around you and leave you all alone," Kiara continued.

Dante's fists clenched at that, his face finally looking up back at her, his eyes full of pain and regret.

"What do you want Kiara?" he said in a pained voice.

"Get up here and find out" she answered.

Dante didn't look pleased at all with the reply but he starting moving forward regardless. With every step, the ground underneath partially melted underfoot leaving an impression of his foot in the stone. He hopped up to the arena and stood across from Kiara about five meters away.

"Looks like you've grown a good amount since then. I wonder how much stronger you've gotten" she said in mock interest.

"Quit the games. What do you want?" he asked.

"Your head would be a nice start," she said gravely as she readied her lance.

Dante stared back at her as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. As he did, the steam started to dissipate along with the heat distortion, the glow fading as well. '_Thank goodness, he got it under control. Who knows how bad this could have gotten if he let loose' _Athena thought as she started to approach the arena to get a better look.

"Stay back" Dante called out without even turning to look at her. She stopped in her tracks, unsure as to why he would say that but didn't object.

The two faunus stared in silence for what felt like ages until Kiara initiated the attack with a straight thrust. Dante sidestepped the attack but she instantly swung the end around catching Dante across the hip, a slick cut marking him. He backpedaled, his face in a grimace as he looked at the new cut. '_Wait . . . why didn't he use aura!? That shouldn't have been enough to draw blood!'_ She wanted to ask Lucian but was too focused on the fight to look away.

Kiara smirked at Dante, pleased with drawing blood as she readied herself again. She surged forward but this time went around Dante's flank before thrusting at his neck. He reacted in time as he leaned back, the lance's end barely grazing over his collar. Kiara followed the lance and came in with a left sucker punch nailing Dante straight in the ribcage. A sickening snap sounded across the arena as Dante was sent flying back tumbling on the floor. '_This isn't right, he should have been able to dodge all of those attacks! What's going on!?'_

She could feel herself start to panic as she watched Dante stand up, blood trickling out of his mouth. She heard two growls coming from behind her and instantly recognized them as Blake and Velvet. She stole one glance at them to see that both were very agitated and Blake even had her teeth bared, pointed fangs replacing regular human incisors.

She was about to say something but then surprisingly Crato spoke up behind them.

"Girls, calm down. If you get in there, you'll just put yourselves in danger and get Dante worried" he said in an uncharacteristically soft yet firm voice.

The girls seemed to settle but their eyes stayed locked on the fighting faunus. Athena looked back as well. Dante was moving in and out of Kiara's thrusts just barely escaping the blade. His cheek had a cut and he looked like he was in pain but he managed to avoid the assault until Kiara disengaged. They stood apart, Dante panting as blood dripped out of the cut on his hip.

"Looks like I was wrong. You haven't gotten stronger, you went soft! Is this what the Silver Demon has become?" Kiara shouted angrily.

". . ."

"Nothing to say then . . . so be it"

Kiara jumped up and brought her lance straight down on top of Dante. He jumped out of danger but Kiara used the lance as an anchor as she swung around it kicking him in the left shoulder, another popping sound ringing out as he tumbled back. He slowly stood back up, his left arm limp at his side as he spit some blood out before looking at Kiara with sad eyes.

This seemed to only anger her more as she ran forward in a blur like with Thantos and drove the bladed end straight through Dante's left shoulder, just a few inches away from where his heart was.

"Dante!" many of teens screamed in unison. Athena herself stayed in shocked silence as she watched on, her heart clutched in panic.

Kiara started to twist the lance, the sound of bone and muscle tearing, piercing through her ears with cruel clarity. She watched helplessly as Dante's face contorted in pain but he didn't make a single sound of protest or scream. Athena could hear several of the teens behind her draw their weapons, feel the slightest trace of killing intent coming from them. She could feel her own hand drawing closer to her whip but she knew that it wouldn't do any good, she was too far and Kiara had Dante at her mercy. Then she noticed that Kiara was trembling.

"Why . . . why don't you fight back?" she said in a low voice.

Dante didn't respond as he looked back at her, his eyes still full of sadness.

Kiara violently pulled the lance back, blood spluttering out of the wound left behind. She then tucked the point under his chin, her own eyes burning with anger as she spoke through grit teeth.

"Fight back"

" . . . I can't . . ." he replied softly.

"Why!?" she shouted.

"I just can't," he continued.

"That's bullshit! Even if I always was stronger than you, you were the most dangerous of us all by far! No one could match you in a fight regardless of the numbers against you and now you say you can't!"

"I can't hurt you Kiara."

Kiara suddenly stepped back and impaled her lance into the floor before walking up to the now standing Dante and punching him across the cheek, sending him sprawling again. He slowly stood up as she neared him before she uppercut him in the lower jaw, blood splattering out of his mouth as he fell on his back.

Before he could get up Kiara sat on top of him and started to pummel him into the ground.

"Fight back!" she screamed repeatedly as she punched but Dante just laid there, taking every punch without even trying to block with his free arm.

"Fight back damn you!" she screamed as she drove in a stronger punch, driving Dante's head into the stone floor creating a crater around his head. Athena wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. If someone didn't step in she would.

She watched as Dante turned his head to look up at Kiara, his expression never changing. She could tell his nose was probably broken and the top of his eyebrow had been busted open, the blood coating over his left eye. Kiara reared her fist back to strike again but stopped an inch above his face, her entire arm trembling.

Athena watched, stupefied, as Kiara stood up, tears starting to fall along her cheeks.

"W-Why don't . . . y-you fight back," she said through sniffles.

Dante slowly exhaled as he sat up. He grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand before sharply pulling on it, popping the joint back in. He then stood up and turned to face her, the torn muscle in his shoulder visibly healing as steam and silver aura curled around the injury. They all watched in amazement as all of his cuts and bruises healed, taking all of thirty seconds to fully repair.

Once healed, Dante spoke softly "I can't hurt you Kiara, you know that."

"But I was trying to kill you!" she shouted back through more tears.

"If you had honestly wanted to kill me, I would be dead," he replied in a matter of fact fashion.

Kiara walked forward until she was just a foot away from and slugged him in the cheek again. This time it didn't even make him stumble, the force not nearly as much as before.

"Why did you leave!?"

She hit him again, this time in the chest.

"I watched them die before my eyes."

Another shot to the chest, softer than before.

"I loved you like family!"

Barely a tap this time.

"She loved you . . . we loved you," she said in a whisper, her hand clinging to his shirt as she looked directly into his eyes.

"I was so scared after you left. They were gone and you disappeared without a trace" she said as she started to sob.

"Please . . . don't leave me like that again . . . I've been alone ever since that night . . ." she said as she clung onto him as if for dear life, her face partially buried in his chest.

Kiara started to softly cry into Dante's shirt while he stood rigid, his fists clenched so hard that blood was dripping between his fingers.

"I'm sorry" he finally spoke, his voice almost cracking.

Kiara brought her face up to look at him, her eyes puffy from crying.

"I thought you would be safer if I left"

"W-Why would you think that?" she asked softly.

"Because they were after me . . . If Chui and Orion hadn't tried to help me, they could have lived." His voice did crack this time.

"Dante . . . that isn't tr—"

"You trusted me to keep Chui safe and I failed! Orion was my best friend and he died trying to save me! I came so close to watching you die too! . . . I was too weak to save anyone I cared for . . ."

At his last words, one tear broke loose, soon followed by another. For the first time Athena was watching Dante cry and it was breaking her heart. She could feel her own eyes sting as tears tried to break loose but she held them back as she continued to watch.

". . . Dante . . . it wasn't your fault. They hated all of us and would have come for them regardless" Kiara said in a soft voice.

"Then I should have been stronger!" he screamed back before his legs buckled dropping him to his knees.

"I was weak and couldn't do anything!" he shouted as he brought his right fist up and smashed it into the ground with so much force that fractures spread across the whole arena.

". . . I . . . failed . . ." he whispered.

"We both did" Kiara replied. "I failed as a big sister, failed as the leader who started the pack. I'm just as much to blame as you."

"But I still put you through more pain. I don't deserve to be forgiven." He said as he looked up at her. "That's why you have every right to kill me if you want to."

"I can't and you know it. You are the only thing I have left that I still care about. You know I despised my family and wanted us to stay together after graduation. . . Please, I don't want to be alone anymore," she whispered at the end as she fell to her knees as well.

"But how can you ever trust me enough to follow me even after everything that happened?"

"Because . . . even when we first started our pack, you cared for us even if you tried to hide it. You acted first when Orion was attacked, you comforted Nala whenever she was sad, and you encouraged me. I may have been looked at as the leader from the outside . . . but you were the one that we truly followed."

". . ."

"Dante . . . I want to be in a pack with you as the Alpha, I won't follow under anyone else" she said firmly.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, his face full of doubt and apprehension.

She nodded firmly as she wiped away the last of her tears, her expression now solemn yet her eyes burned with passion. '_So she wasn't trying to kill him. She was just upset about him leaving.' _Athena felt the worry subside as the two long lost friends settled down, the tension in the air finally dissolving. She was about to move forward but Blake and Velvet beat her to it as they jumped up to the arena and dropped beside Dante.

Velvet was looking for any injuries but didn't seem to find anything while Blake looked between Dante and Kiara. Athena soon followed and knelt down beside Dante. His clothes were mostly bloody now and his nose still looked misaligned. She locked eyes with him for a moment before she reached up and gingerly placed her hands on his nose. She counted to three and quickly snapped his nose back into place earning a soft "Ow."

"Now you complain" she muttered as she inspected her handy work.

Dante gave her a faint smile in response before he turned to look at Kiara.

"Kiara, this is Athena. She's my partner and team member. These two are Blake and Velvet, the Betas currently in a pack with me."

"Umm … Hi" Kiara said somewhat sheepishly.

"Hi" Athena replied nicely, trying to get over the fact that they had been in a death match not 10 seconds ago.

Velvet and Blake each said their own hellos as well, Velvet's looking more genuine than Blake's.

"It's nice to meet you all. Havasu and Thantos told me quite a bit about you," Kiara added.

"How much?" asked Athena.

"Mostly details about how your pack formed and how Dante gets really protective around you" Kiara answered.

"The mouth on those two," Dante commented with annoyance.

"Um, Dante. Everyone is still looking at us," said Velvet as she looked over her shoulder to the group gathered at the edge of the arena.

"An introduction would do," added Blake.

Dante nodded and took a deep breath before he slowly stood up, his face still covered in some blood, as he looked at the others waiting at the side of the arena.

"Ladies and gents . . . I present to you the strongest of the four monsters of Mount Othrys Academy, Kiara Nyekundu, otherwise known as the Bloody Queen," he said nonchalantly.

Some of the teens waved back nervously as Kiara stood up beside Dante.

"Wait, I thought you were the strongest?" Crato commented.

"Actually in terms of strength, I was at the top. Dante is much faster than me and has way more aura at his disposal, so overall he was the most powerful student in our class," Kiara elaborated.

"Well then," said Crato.

"So you were the one that fought with Dante when he first got to the academy?" asked Ruby.

"Mhm." Kiara replied.

Weiss looked like she was about to ask a question but Dante held his hand up for silence.

"I know you guys have questions but for now, I want everyone to head to their dorms and get some rest. We can meet up again at dinner, ok?" he said.

The teens didn't look too pleased as they started to head out, Blake and Velvet were especially reluctant but after some more persuading they left. The Slayers now stood together in silence, waiting for Dante's instructions.

"That was eventful" he sighed.

"I found it rather entertaining" Crato commented smugly.

"Not going to let it go, are you?" Dante groaned.

"Nope."

Kiara tapped Dante's shoulder. "Introductions?"

"Right . . . this ass is Crato" he said with a pointed finger to which Crato promptly flipped him off.

"And the wolf is Lucian. The two of them plus me and Athena form team ASCZ" Dante finished.

"Hello" Kiara greeted confidently as she shook each of their hands.

"Pleasure" Lucian replied.

"Fan of your work" said Crato as he pointed to the Dante sized impression left on the floor.

"Careful Crato, she's stronger than me. Piss her off and I can't guarantee your safety" said Dante.

"I survived your hits didn't I" Crato retorted.

"You must be pretty strong to do that" Kiara said with a sly smile.

"You bet" Crato returned with an obviously flirty smile.

"Mind if I test that?" Kiara asked innocently as she leaned forward in a cute way. '_Ok, how is she pulling off that look when she was looking downright murderous just a moment ago? Her eyes aren't even puffy anymore. Is that faunus healing?' _Athena pondered as she watched the exchange.

"How so?" Crato asked curiously.

"Like this" Kiara said as she grabbed his left hand with her right, interlacing their fingers.

"Now squeeze as hard as you want" Kiara instructed.

"You sure about that?" Crato asked.

"Positive"

Crato eyed her for a moment before he started to squeeze. They watched as some of his veins pulsed from the pressure, his hand bending hers back slightly. Athena looked at Kiara's face but she didn't seem bothered at all. '_That should hurt a little . . . I mean, I've seen Crato bend steel with that grip'_ she pondered as they waited for Crato to stop.

"My turn?" Kiara asked sweetly. Crato nodded nervously.

Kiara's sweet expression turned to a devilish grin as she applied pressure, instantly bending Crato's fingers back. Crato's face started to redden as he tried to hold out but after 8 seconds he broke.

"Ok! Mercy! Mercy!" he said through grit teeth.

"Okay" Kiara chirped happily as she released her grip and let his hand drop. '_Oh, I like her.'_

"I warned you" Dante said while chuckling, looking at Crato cradle his hand.

"Scary," commented Thantos as he eyed Kiara.

Kiara then looked at Havasu and Thantos expectantly.

"Any other challengers?" she asked sweetly.

Havasu crossed his arms to form an x in front of his body. "Challenge denied" he said.

"Ah! No fun," Kiara said with a pout.

"Anyways, I'm heading back to the dorm. I need to clean off all this blood" Dante said as he inspected his shirt. "I really liked this shirt too" he grumbled.

"Sorry" Kiara said sheepishly.

Dante gave her side glance as he sighed again while running his hand through his hair.

"Whatever, it's just a shirt. Catch you guys in a few" he said before he started to walk away while Lucian and Crato went with Thantos and Havasu to talk about the training regimens they had planned.

Athena watched him walk out the doors, wondering what was up with him. He seemed a little off character, maybe he was still in shock from having Kiara return. She then looked at Kiara and realized that Kiara was looking at her intently.

"Umm . . . what's up?" she asked nervously. After seeing how Kiara could go from friendly to terrifying in an instant, it made her uneasy being at the focus of her attention.

"Not much, just curious is all" Kiara replied.

"About?"

"It's been a while since he's looked at anyone that way," Kiara said.

"What do you mean?" she asked, perplexed by the statement.

"I'm not sure how long you've been together or how much you know about him but after a while you can read him like a book," Kiara explained.

"So . . . ?"

"He cares about you."

Athena felt a blush start to appear. "Y-Yeah sure he does. I do to, after all I'm his best friend and partner" she replied quickly, a little too quickly.

"Friend?" Kiara asked with a raised eyebrow.

Athena nodded.

"I swear, unless it's in a fight he is denser than a rock" she groaned as she rubbed her temple.

"Yeah . . . he is," Athena deadpanned.

"So why haven't you done anything about it?" Kiara suddenly asked making Athena jump.

"He's already with someone," she answered.

"Who?" Kiara asked briskly.

"No idea, I've never really asked."

"That idiot," Kiara muttered under her breath.

Suddenly Kiara slung one arm over Athena's shoulder and gave her a grin.

"I think you need a partner in crime," Kiara said cheerily.

Athena looked at her in wonder. Kiara's sudden friendliness was surprising but it felt comforting.

"So, wanna show me your dorm?" Kiara asked.

"Um . . . ok, but why?" she replied.

"Just want to see how different it is from my dorm with Thantos and Havasu.

"I guess that makes sense" she answered.

"Cool, just let me get my spear" Kiara said as she jogged over to the impaled lance and pulled it out of the stone floor with ease.

"Ok, let's go" Kiara said once she was back beside her.

They started to walk out of the area, leaving behind the conversing Slayers, and chatting light heartedly on their way to the dorms.

* * *

The cold water rushed over his face, the droplets running off his chin murky red rather than clear. Even at the coldest setting, the temperature didn't bother him in the slightest and yet the entire bath was steaming. Such a tirade of emotions were passing through him that his semblance was unconsciously trying to activate, heating his skin to the point the water started to boil on contact.

He took a deep breath as he leaned his forehead against the wall, his eyes shut tight as he thought back to the arena. '_I'm such a fool . . . I left her alone. Everyone that she had cared about gone in one night. I should have stayed, helped her, comforted her! Yet all I did was run, too caught up in my own fears and pain to even think of helping her. Even then she still wants to be in a pack with me again!? How could she trust me? I'm a coward! A failure! I . . .'_

Dante could feel his aura growing more agitated, threatening to activate. If that happened someone could get hurt . . . no, not hurt. If they got caught in his aura there would be no escape, they would die by instant incineration. He tried to focus on calming down but his thoughts were too rampant, milling around with memories of the past. He looked at his hand for a moment before he bite down on it, hard. His needed his aura to divert to healing rather than activate his semblance so he bite through his hand, his teeth mincing through the flesh and crushing the bone.

He could smell and taste his own blood, the tint of Sulphur and iron mixing into the air, as it poured out of his horrendous wound. It was working, he could feel his body cool as the aura condensed around his hand, regenerating the flesh and bone to perfect condition. If someone took an x-ray of him they would think he'd never broken a bone in his life. After all, his body didn't mend damages, it regenerated the afflicted area erasing all traces of damage.

As the last bits of skin sealed he turned off the shower and stepped out. He didn't bother grabbing the towel since he was already dry. Quickly getting dressed in only boxers, he forgot to grab his clothes, he stepped out of the bathroom to find two pairs of eyes staring at him.

Kiara was the first to break the silence. "Well . . . someone has filled out nicely" she said as she looked him up and down while Athena started to blush.

Dante found that odd, she had seen him like this before so why the blush?

"You ok?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah I'm fine," she replied, her eyes not too subtly looking him over as well.

" . . . Ok . . ." he said unsurely as he turned around to grab a pair of shorts, his shirt, and wraps. As he leaned down he caught a glance at the mirror above his dresser and saw Kiara nudging Athena with her elbow while Athena just looked at her feet. '_Kiara, just what are you up to?' _he thought as he stepped into some cargo shorts before putting on a plain green shirt. Once finished he turned around and gave Kiara a signature glare that he had perfected back when he was in a pack with her.

"Now that's a look I haven't seen in a while" Kiara said in a teasing fashion. "You can't blame me for eyeing the goods since you got so hunky."

Dante sighed in defeat, knowing full well that shame nor subtly were not in Kiara's vocabulary.

"So Dante, quick question" she asked.

"What?"

"If you are so quick to step out almost commando, does Athena return the favor?" Kiara asked innocently.

Athena gasped at that, a mad blush appearing on her cheeks while Dante went rigid.

"She doesn't!? How dull Athena" she continued as she glanced at her.

Before anyone could say anything, Kiara stepped behind Athena while reaching around and groped her breasts, pushing them together.

"You want to don't yah?" she said shamelessly from over Athena's shoulder.

"Kya!" Athena yelped as she tried to break out of Kiara's grip. Dante on his end was completely slack jawed, his eyes nailed to Athena's chest.

After some wriggling she got loose and locked eyes with Dante for a moment, her entire face as red as Kiara's hair, before she grabbed a large hard-cover book from his desk and threw it at his face screaming "Stop staring!"

Dante didn't even try to dodge, his mind almost blank aside from one image, as his entire body started to steam again. Once the book fell, he could see Athena sitting on his bed, her arms crossed over her chest while she looked down. Kiara was laughing her ass off, using Athena's bed as support. As soon as his mind rebooted and his body stopped steaming, Dante marched over to the laughing lioness and executed his favored punishment. He flicked her hard on the forehead, leaving a sizeable mark, cutting her laughter short.

"Ow!" she whined as she covered over the mark with one hand and gave him a hurt look. Her ears flattened against her head as her pupils expanded and her bottom lip started to quiver. "That was mean Dante," she continued, trying to look as innocent and sweet as possible.

"Tough" he replied curtly. Any other time the infamous 'sweet kitten look' would have worked but right now he was more annoyed than anything and wasn't about to forgive her shamelessness.

As soon as she realized the effort was fruitless she quit the look, her expression getting serious.

"Ok, I'll behave. Now, why was there a smell of blood?" she asked.

"Blood?" Athena suddenly asked, no longer looking at her feet, as worry filled her eyes.

"What? I was covered in blood when I went in. Of course you are going to smell blood," he replied.

"I can tell it was fresh and a lot of it. It also smelled like sulfur so I know it was yours" Kiara retorted.

Dante was stuck. He needed to think up an excuse quickly but wasn't sure what would convince them.

"Dante . . . tell us, please" Athena said softly as she stepped closer to him. His resolve crumbled the moment he looked into her sapphire eyes, knowing full well that he couldn't lie to her.

". . . My aura was going out of control, so I bit open my hand to stem my aura into healing rather than activate my semblance" he explained.

"It was the memories of that night . . . wasn't it?" Kiara asked softly.

He nodded, his hands trembling at the mere mention of that massacre. He started to worry that his semblance would activate again but then Athena slipped her hand into his. He looked at her in surprise but found comfort in her warm eyes, his aura falling back under control as she gave his hand a soft squeeze.

"Dante . . ." Kiara said as she stepped closer and placed her hand on his cheek. ". . . it wasn't your fault. I know exactly how much it hurts . . . but you can't let the past control you like this" she said soothingly.

He looked into her wine colored eyes, remembering why he had cared about her so much. He had loved her like a sister, always finding consul in her, telling her about anything that bothered him. Regardless of how much they butted heads, in the end they were always there for each other, until when she needed him most…that was.

"But . . . I hurt you . . . left you alone" he said sadly.

"But I'm not alone anymore, am I?" she asked softly.

Dante slowly shook his head. "Never again" he promised.

He slowly released Athena's hand before he pulled Kiara into a tight embrace. She soon draped her arms around his chest as her head rested on his shoulder. He glanced over at Athena to see she was smiling warmly at him. Then she slowly stepped around them and quietly left the room, giving him a quick nod before closing the door.

Once closed Kiara's legs buckled, forcing them both to their knees before she started to full on cry, the pain and sadness of years being alone finally breaking out. Dante cradled her in his arms, as she cried into his chest, hot tears streaming down his face as well. He held her tight, wanting to make up for every minute she had to endure alone.

" . . . Never again . . ." he choked out.

* * *

**Author's Rant: The emotion! A new alpha has appeared and joins the pack! Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!**

**Follow!Favorite!Review!**


	25. Settling Feelings

**Author's Note: Not much to say on this chapter, mostly some fluff though there are some tidbits that hint at future subjects that will be discussed. Hope everyone enjoys!**

**P.S. any comments or reviews are really appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

"Where are they?"

"Stop being nosy Yang. They most likely have much to catch up on."

"Oh come on, I know you are just a curious as the rest of us, Ice Queen."

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Can both of you just quite it already?"

Both girls quieted down once Blake spoke up. Lucian had noted how she was particularly distraught when Kiara attacked Dante and still seemed troubled. That was several hours ago. After the teens had been sent off and the Slayers each split to their tasks, Lucian had watched Kiara and Athena converse from afar. He was surprised to see the two become friends so quickly, at least Kiara looked like she wanted to be friends. After they left, Lucian had gone into the lockers to shower and change into some sparring clothes he always left there in case of emergencies.

Once cleaned and changed, he'd stayed around waiting for Crato to do the same before they went back to their dorm to drop off their gear. When they arrived, they spotted Athena exiting her room. Lucian was about to ask why but she quickly placed a finger to her lips signaling for them to stay quiet. They dropped their things off and silently left the dorm and headed for the cafeteria. It was early for dinner but they preferred to ideally sit in the hall and talk there while they waited for their mentees to gather.

Athena hadn't elaborated much into what happened in the dorm, only saying that Dante and Kiara needed to be alone. She didn't look upset as she said it but Lucian had the nagging suspicion that she would have preferred staying with Dante. This entire day had turned out very differently than he would have expected. The fact that Kiara also wanted to follow in Dante's pack was unsettling, especially considering that she is an Alpha as well. '_A Red Lion, known for their strength and fortitude. That is a very powerful addition any way you look at it . . . some might even say it's too much power for such a small pack. There is no way their pack won't get some attention now.'_

Lucian had a bad feeling about this. It couldn't be coincidence that Alphas were suddenly turning up. He would have to discuss this later with Dante but for now he needed to stay cool and collect. After idle chatter with Athena and Crato, later joined by Thantos, Havasu, and most of their mentees, they served themselves dinner. The pork, rice, and beans had tasted bland in his mouth, his thoughts too focused on the implications of Dante's addition to his pack. '_I can't ignore him as an alpha for much longer . . .' _

Once everyone finished eating, the teens started to open fire with questions.

What does having another Slayer mean? Are there going to be more? Will their training change? How much did they actually know about Kiara? And most important of all . . . where are they?

Havasu and Thantos tried to answer the parts about Kiara but it looked like they hadn't talked much when she arrived and most of the morning had been training. Athena told them that Dante and Kiara were catching up back in the dorm. It took all of three seconds for Yang and Coco to start making heated suggestions as to what 'catching up' meant. Lucian could see Athena visibly start to shrink back as the suggestions grew wilder, Nora occasionally chiming in as well.

Blake and Velvet didn't look very pleased either, so Lucian had stepped in to silence the shameless duo. It still didn't do anything to settle the tirade of questions so now everyone just sat around waiting for the long lost friends to return and since the cafeteria was relatively empty now, everyone was starting to get antsy.

'_Dante move your ass before I have to go and drag you here.'_ As he finished that thought, he felt two powerful pressures approaching. He recognized the sensation well, having grown up around powerful fauna. He looked to the far doors and not a moment later Dante and Kiara walked in.

Dante was dressed in some cargo shorts, sandals, his black wraps, and a blue t-shirt. Kiara was also changed out of her training gear, now dressed in some shorts and a red tank top. They both looked calmer than when they were in the arena and there didn't seem to be any odd tension between them. As they neared, the others at the table noticed them approaching, most quieting down until the fauna arrived.

"Hey" said Dante coolly.

"About time" Crato replied first. "What took you so long?"

Dante was about to reply when Athena suddenly asked "Weren't you wearing a green shirt?"

Dante glanced down for a moment before responding "Needed to change it."

"My fault" Kiara added softly.

"Oh?" Coco's face looked mischievous, Yang and Nora close behind while Velvet and Blake's ears flattened down. '_Here we go.'_

"What?" asked Dante, not noticing the reactions.

"We heard that you two were catching up so we thought . . ." Yang didn't voice the last part, letting it linger.

Some of the girls started to blush and Lucian could hear certain heartbeats quickening, namely Athena's. Dante took a moment before his eyes widened, getting the suggestion, before he shook his head and said "Oh no. Kiara's the closest thing I have to a sister so no."

Kiara gave Dante an amused expression before she suddenly latched on to his arm and pulled him close, his arm between her generous bust, and gave him an innocent face.

"Oh come on Dante. Don't you find me the least bit attractive?" she asked in a sensual voice as she leaned close to his neck.

Lucian thought someone was about to have a heart attack judging from what he could hear around him. He could also hear the slightest growl coming from Blake and Velvet. Dante on his end looked annoyed as he gave Kiara a glare that Lucian hadn't seen before.

Kiara now looked disappointed. "Damn . . . this used to make you get all flustered" she said with a pout, still holding on to his arm.

"I thought I told you to behave" he said sourly.

"I am" she replied.

"Then let go" he replied as he glanced at his arm.

"Nope. I'm making up for lost time" she replied.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Not taking any chances" she said playfully.

Dante's glare shifted to a sly smirk, worry suddenly flashing across Kiara's face. " . . . Dante, what are you planning?"

Quick as a whip, Dante's free hand moved to the top of Kiara's head and held one of her ears. She went rigid as she locked eyes with him.

"Behave . . . or I start pinching" he said mischievously.

"Y-You wouldn't dare" Kiara said softly as her loose ear flattened down.

"Try me" Dante challenged, his grin growing by the second.

The stayed silent for about 10 seconds before Kiara sighed in defeat and released Dante's arm but he kept his hand in place.

"Aren't you going to let go?" she asked.

"Nah, this is too much fun" he answered.

Kiara made a kitten face, her pupils growing nearly twice their original size, as she said "Please."

"You little cheat" Dante groaned as he released her ear.

Kiara stuck her tongue out at him before turning and sitting down beside Athena. Dante sighed before he looked at Lucian. "So, think there is anything left or will I have to cook back in the dorm?"

"They should still be serving some pork and rice, probably not hot though" Lucian replied.

"That won't be a problem" Dante replied as he left the table and headed over to the serving station at the other end of the hall.

Once he was a good distance away everyone turned to look at Kiara. She just looked back, unfazed by all the attention.

"So Kiara . . ." started Yang ". . . any juicy secrets you can tell us about Dante?"

"Yang! Can you be ruder or more intrusive for that matter?" asked a very irritated Weiss.

"I agree. If you are so curious then ask him yourself" said Velvet speaking for the first time since they pair had arrived.

"I can't be the only one that wants to know more" Yang defended.

"I want to know more too" added Coco. A few of the others nodded as well.

"I'm not sure that the best thing right now" said Athena.

"It's ok, I don't mind at all" said Kiara. "What do you want to know?"

Yang tapped her chin in thought as she pondered a question but Ruby beat her to it.

"What was he like back then?" she asked.

"Hmm . . . honestly not too different to how he is now though he seems a little more serious, almost sad. He could be very friendly and playful when he wanted to be or really serious and kinda scary, especially in fights." Kiara answered.

"So he only got a little more serious?" asked Jaune.

"That's very light, all this considered. If any of you went through what these two did, I'm more than sure none of you would have gotten off so easily" commented Havasu in a heavy tone.

"Way to kill the mood" Coco deadpanned as the group fell silent.

"Kiara . . . how much do you know about Dante's aura and semblance?" asked Lucian. He had been very intrigued by what he saw back in the arena and wanted to get a better understanding of just what Dante could do.

Kiara eyed him for a moment before speaking. "I know about its general nature and some abilities it gives him. I've also seen the results when he uses it."

"Could you elaborate?" Lucian persisted.

". . . Why?" she asked, her tone getting suspicious.

"Because he hasn't really told us more than a brief overview and has never fully used it in front of us," he said.

"…"

"I'd like to think that he would be ok with you telling us," he continued.

"How much have you seen?" she asked.

"Only two small occurrences back when we had our initiation" he replied.

". . . and?" she asked.

"Both times were to help me" Athena answered. "The first was to intercept Crato's lance and later to seal a cut I got while fighting Crato."

"That doesn't answer how much you've seen" Kiara stated.

"I'm not sure about how he managed to catch my lance but the second time was him heating up his index finger to cauterize Athena's cut" said Crato.

"Then you haven't seen his semblance" said Kiara.

"What? You mean he caught my Gungnir Bolt, an attack matching bullet speeds, without even using a semblance?" Crato asked incredulously.

"Yep" she replied curtly.

Lucian was about to ask what she meant by that but Kiara raised her hand to cut him off.

"Look, there is a reason you haven't seen it. Hell, the only reason I've even seen it is because he was beyond angry when he used it," she said.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Thantos.

Kiara's expression darkened as she looked at him before answering. "The one time I saw it was on the night of that dance."

Everyone stayed quiet, intently waiting for Kiara to continue. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I don't really want to go into it but if I have to say anything is . . . his semblance is always lethal" she said gravely. Some of the teens paled while Blake and Velvet's ears flattened down completely.

"I don't unders—"

"You don't need to" Dante said as he returned to the table with his and Kiara's food, cutting off Lucian. Some people jumped at his sudden arrival, too focused on Kiara to notice his return.

No one made a sound as Dante sat down beside Kiara since it was the only spot open and gave her a plate of pork and rice. He took a bite of his food without really looking at anyone before he glanced at Kiara and frowned.

"What's wrong? Thought you were hungry" he said.

"I am but . . . it's cold" she returned.

Dante gave an irritated sigh before he place his hand above her plate. His hand started to steam, the exposed skin of his fingers turning to a shade of silver with steaks of red. The space between his palm and the food began to radiate with heat, the air becoming distorted, for 10 seconds before Dante removed his hand and resumed eating.

"Thanks" Kiara said as she dug into her meal as well, the duo eating in silence while everyone else waited. Dante finished his plate in just a few minutes and once finished, looked at the others.

"I know you are really curious but it's best that you don't look into it" he said sternly.

"Why?" asked Ruby softly.

Dante looked at her, his expression softening slightly. "You all saw what happened back in the arena. My semblance is dangerous, especially when my emotions run rampant. I can't even safely spar with anyone using it and I only use it in the field when the situation is dire."

"But didn't you just use it now?" asked Weiss as she glanced at Kiara's empty plate.

"No, that's just an effect of my aura. I can superheat my body and am immune to heat damage because of my semblance but the actual ability is only applicable in combat," he explained.

"What about your healing? That was far more than any standard Alpha healing back in the arena," Lucian stated. He could heal quickly as well but such severe muscle and bone damage like Dante had received would take at least a couple of hours to heal.

"I can metabolize energy faster so regenerating damage like that is trivial" Dante answered nonchalantly.

"Scary" Havasu commented making Dante shrug.

"So Kiara, what about yours?" Coco asked.

"Hmm . . . I'll tell you some other time. My semblance isn't exactly any prettier than Dante's" Kiara replied.

"Ah come on! I thought you said you didn't mind answering our questions?" said Yang.

"Not if they were silly little things like dirty secrets," Kiara answered.

"Careful" Dante said evenly. Kiara gave him a wicked grin before she leaned forward and whispered "He is a total pervert."

Some of the girls gasped as they stared at Dante with accusing looks.

"She is worse," he replied.

"At least deny it," said Velvet as her cheeks reddened

"He can't and he knows it," Kiara said smugly.

"That may be true, but at least I have some humility," Dante retorted.

"It's more fun that way," she returned.

"Please tell me I'm not going to have to babysit you?" Dante deadpanned.

"Hey!" Kiara pouted.

Before she could say anything else Dante stood up from the table and yawned.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm headed to bed. Got to be in Port's lecture tomorrow. Night" he said as he started to walk away. Athena stood up as well and said her goodbyes before she followed after him, the two disappearing around the doors.

"Bed sounds nice," said Blake as she stood up, her team following suite.

"It has been a long day," Pyrrha added as her team got up as well. Team CFVY also began to depart leaving the remaining Slayers alone.

Once the teens were out of sight Lucian turned to look at Kiara. She had a small smile on as she looked at the doors.

"Happy about something?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, just getting a little nostalgic about something is all," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow in question, hoping she would elaborate.

She took notice and continued. "It's an odd feeling of déjà vu, watching how Dante and Athena interact."

"How so?" asked Thantos.

"It's funny . . . I'm pretty sure Athena realizes she has more than just feelings of friendship but she doesn't know if Dante would return those feelings. Dante on his end doesn't even realize he has feelings for her. It reminds me how cute and innocent he can be when it comes to mundane things," she said softly."

"I wonder how long it will take," commented Havasu.

"Well, there is still the problem of Dante being with some chick from Vale," Kiara added with a frown.

"Just what are you planning?" Lucian asked suspiciously.

He was starting to become aware of just how similar Kiara and Dante are. They both had an odd twinkle in their eyes when they wanted to plan something mischievous and he had the nagging suspicion that she was going to involve them somehow.

"Something," she replied ominously.

"Ok then . . . I'm going to head out before I get pulled into anything," said Thantos as he stood up and hurried out of the cafeteria.

"Coward," Kiara called after him.

She then looked at Havasu and Crato, her eyes asking the question for her 'Will you help me?' They both glanced at each other before Crato grinned as he stuck out his hand.

"This should be fun," he said. Kiara beamed back at him as she took his hand and firmly shook it.

'I got nothing else to do," Havasu added as he also shook hands with her.

Kiara then looked at Lucian.

"I don't know," he said nervously. Messing around with other people's romances weren't exactly his ideal pass time.

"Please?" Kiara said as she made that kitten face again. '_Ok, that is just not fair'_ he internally groaned as he sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Yes!" Kiara jumped off her seat triumphantly.

"Now that it's settled, night," she said as she walked away and left the cafeteria.

"Anyone else feel like we just made a pact with the devil?" asked Havasu as he stood up to leave.

"Maybe she hides the horns behind those ears but hey, this could be fun," Crato said as they started to walk out.

'_Or it could be some hair-brained scheme that will end in disaster' _Lucian thought cheerily as they made their way down the halls.

* * *

Athena was feeling odd. Ever since she'd left Dante alone with Kiara and joined the others in the cafeteria she had felt an odd discomfort, especially with the comments Yang and Coco had made. She knew that Dante and Kiara were like siblings but it didn't help to settle her thoughts. She had even felt something akin to jealousy when Kiara latched on to Dante's arm and now she was feeling ashamed of it.

'_Come on, you shouldn't judge how they interact. They haven't seen each other in years and deserve to have some quality time' _she reprimanded herself. She thought back to when his hand was trembling and how she moved without even thinking. She had been surprised to feel just how scared he was, the trembling running through his hand as if his body was freezing up but then he relaxed and the familiar warmth started to flow through him.

She had felt slightly sad when he let go of her hand, missing the contact, but she understood that they needed to be alone and so she quietly left, giving Dante a quick nod to let him know it was alright. Now she was just finished changing into a pair of sleeping shorts and tank top after showering.

She stepped out to see Dante leaning against his bed while he stared out the window. She couldn't see anything outside since it was pitch dark but she guessed that it wasn't a bother to him. She softly walked over to her bed, unsure of what to say to him. He had been quiet the whole way back so she guessed he wasn't in the mood to talk to her. She was about to get in bed when she felt Dante wrap his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind.

"Dante?" she asked softly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks due to the contact.

"I just wanted to thank you," he replied in a whisper.

"For what?"

"For helping me back when my aura was stirring. It seems that every time I get on edge, you are there to put things under control. If you hadn't . . . I don't know what could have happened."

"Dante . . ." she said gently. ". . . I told you I'll always be there if you need me. If you need someone to keep you calm, then just let me know," she said as she leaned back into the soft embrace, resting her head beside his chin.

She loved the warm feeling that always radiated around him, the sense of security and care it provided. She thought back to how he said his semblance is only good for hurting others but she knew it wasn't always the case. He thinks that he can only burn and hurt others but now, the way he so gently warms her up, she knew he was far more than the monster he thought he was. '_And even if he really is a monster, I don't care because . . . I'm in love with that kind and gentle monster.'_

After watching Dante get hurt in his fight with Kiara, Athena knew she didn't just care for him as a partner. She didn't want to see him in any kind of pain even though she knew he could and likely would bare it if it meant helping those he cared about. Kiara had instantly noticed her feelings the moment they started to walk together and had asked her how long she's felt that way. She had tried to play it off, slightly embarrassed at having her feelings read so quickly but Kiara had persisted until she relented.

She still doesn't know if Dante has any feelings for her beyond those of platonic friendship but that didn't mean she would cherish these moments with him, alone and in his embrace. They stayed like that for several minutes until Athena decided to turn around to face him, his arms still wrapped around her back as she looked up at him.

Sapphire looked into hazel. She smiled warmly at him before she said softly "Can you please show me your real eyes?"

He didn't even ask why as he exhaled, his eyes shifting to their natural silver and scarlet coloration as the crossed slits focused on her. Before those eyes had been sources of fear and intimidation, the eyes of an apex predator ready to kill. Now they only made her feel safe and reassured. Those eyes show her exactly who he is, the kind, caring person behind the scary exterior, always willing to help those that need him even if it meant he would suffer.

She brought her hand up to his cheek, softly running her thumb over his cheek. He leaned into her hand, his arm slightly tightening the embrace, not that she minded. After a few more minutes Dante did something that surprised her. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, her face instantly burning at the contact.

She stared at him, at a loss for words while he himself lightly blushed before he let go of her and turned around.

"Night" he said hastily as he hopped into bed, his body turned towards the wall.

Athena stood rigid for a moment, her hand tracing the spot he kissed her before she managed to turn and climb into her own bed.

"Goodnight," she said as she covered herself in her sheets. Her entire body felt like it was burning up and she couldn't help but softly giggle at what had just happened. '_I don't think I'm falling asleep any time soon.'_

* * *

"And there it was! I had cornered the foul beast in its own cave. The tear in its hind leg having caused massive blood loss. I approached, waiting, biding my time to strike . . ."

"Make it stop."

"Quit your groaning!" Dante whispered harshly.

"But this is so boring . . ." Kiara grumbled back.

"Just try to hold out, it should be over soon" Athena whispered to her.

Kiara groaned some more but started to quiet down. Dante and Athena were just as bored as her but they knew they needed to stay quiet unless Port asked them to speak. '_How did it end up like this though? I thought only two Slayers were supposed to attend each class as assistants or did Kiara just sneak here?' _Dante pondered as he tried his best to tune out Port's tale.

He looked at the students, entertaining himself with guessing which one's would fall asleep or make it through the class. He made eye contact with Weiss, the only conscious member of team RWBY, and glanced at Port before he rolled his eyes with an exaggerated sigh making her stifle a giggle. After a few of Port's lectures, Dante had started making faces and small shenanigans with Yang or Ruby to pass the time, Blake occasionally joining in. Now since it was just Weiss, he was trying to see how much it took before he got her to crack and play along.

He glanced at Kiara and Athena to his left, the duo seemingly playing rock-paper-scissors in their boredom. It looked like Athena was winning, judging from her grin while Kiara pouted, asking for constant rematches. He looked back at Weiss, the heiress still looking at him rather than pay attention to Port. He smirked a little before he stuck his tongue out and touched the tip of his nose with it, a challenge to Weiss. She got his intention and gave him a scowl but after a few seconds she glanced around before trying to mirror him.

He couldn't help but chuckle as she tried in vain to touch the tip of her nose with her tongue. He knew she wouldn't like being called it, but the way her face looked while she tried to perform such a childish task was adorable. Kiara and Athena noticed his game with Weiss, both starting to giggle at Weiss's expression making her blush in turn. Luckily Port didn't notice any of the antics going on and soon the bell rang, officially ending, in Dante's opinion, the most pointless lecture in all of Beacon.

The Slayers waited for the students to file out, a very groggy team RWBY and flustered heiress being the last to leave. Once the room was clear the Slayers waited to see if Port had any tasks for them but he just waved them off before he exited the room through a back door.

"Could have just told us he didn't have anything for us instead of making us wait," commented Kiara as they walked out.

"Maybe he noticed us playing around and got sour about it," added Athena.

"Whatever, at least we are done with it for today," said Dante.

Outside they were greeted by team RWBY who seemed to be waiting for them.

"Yo," Dante greeted.

"Need anything girls?" asked Athena.

"Just wanted to hang around until next class," answered Yang cheerily. The others nodded in agreement.

"What time do you have class?" asked Kiara.

"Around 1 pm," answered Weiss.

"Oh, how about we head into Vale afterwards and hang out," suggested Ruby excitedly.

"Sounds good. We don't have any class until late at night," said Athena. "What do you think Dante?" she asked sweetly as she smiled at him.

He looked at her smile and instantly started to feel oddly warm. He thought back to last night, Kiara's groping, hugging her from behind, her tender touch on his cheek, how he almost ended up kissing her. He could feel his cheeks start to heat up so he turned on his heel and walked hastily away while calling back "Um, I got to talk to Lucian about something. . ." and rounded the corner out of sight, not even trying to look back and see how the ladies reacted though he could hear Kiara laughing.

'_I'll get her later' _he thought as he looked for a secluded spot to stop and calm down. '_The hell is up with me!? First I hug her from behind, then I barely manage to steer clear of her lips when I went for that kiss, and now I just see her smile and I heat up. Dammit Dante! Get some fucking control!' _He leaned his forehead against a wall, trying his hardest to get her image out of his head and failing miserably.

He reared his head back and smacked it straight into the wall, a crack forming on the brick wall as he made contact. He let out a heavy sigh of defeat, unable to clear his mind. He was about to repeat the process when he detected a presence approaching, a powerful pressure marking the strength of an Alpha. Just from the feeling, he knew it wasn't Kiara. He didn't know exactly how he could tell but whenever Kiara approached it felt like energetic warmth was getting closer, forceful yet not overpowering. He had asked her once and she told him his presence felt like a burning heat was getting closer.

This presence on the other hand was calm and cool, almost making him feel as if he was standing in a river, the current steadily gaining strength as the person got closer. '_Lucian.'_

He glanced to his side and there stood the Grey Wolf, observing him with polite curiosity and something else but he couldn't place what. He waited for the wolf to say something, not too keen on starting the conversation himself.

Lucian took about a minute before he asked "So, any reason you are assaulting the defenseless wall?"

"Trying to clear my thoughts" he answered bluntly.

"How's that working for you?"

"About as well as the wall is doing against my head," he groaned.

"Surprise, surprise," Lucian replied sarcastically. "What's troubling you?"

Dante eyed him for a moment, unsure if he should confide in him or not. He knew he couldn't tell Crato or Havasu for that matter, they are both too chatty. Kiara would tease him mercilessly if she knew and he wasn't sure if Thantos would even be interested in the subject.

"It's sort of a tricky subject," he said cryptically.

"Athena then?" Lucian instantly retorted.

Dante stared at him, dumbfounded as to how he knew. Before he could say anything Lucian continued "Let's go to Vale and grab some drinks. You look like you need it."

Dante took a moment to think it over but then nodded. Now that he thought about it, the two of them have never spent any time alone to really talk so this could be a nice change of pace. He started walking beside Lucian, the duo silently making their way to the transport.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Well, looks like the oblivious dragon is finally realizing what's up or at least I hope he will. Lets see how the guys will bond.**

**Hope everyone enjoyed! Favorite~Follow~Review**


	26. Tell Me Your Troubles

**Author's Note: Hey guys. While since I posted (work) bu I'll try to get my updates out more often. Anyways, enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"What is this place?"

"Some bar I came to with Crato to once."

"Is this the place you met that chick who had her way with you?"

"Damn, I was hoping you would have forgotten already. . ."

". . . Walk of sha—"

"Shut it!"

"…"

The two Slayers walked into the nearly empty club, checking past the bouncers and heading straight for the bar, each taking a seat and waving down the bartender.

"What's your poison?" the bartender asked.

"What's the hardest thing you got?" asked Lucian while Dante looked at the assortment of liquors and rums on the opposite wall.

"Some prime Atlisian Fireball Whiskey," answered the bartender.

"Two shots of that then," ordered Lucian.

"Are you trying to get me hammered?" asked Dante jokingly.

"One shot won't hurt," Lucian retorted. "Or are you a light weight?"

"Please, I could drink the entire team under the table."

"I'll take that bet."

"What will I win?"

"Cocky are we? Hm . . . how about I pick up the entire tab next time the team goes out regardless of where we go."

"You have that kind of money to throw around?"

"I was paid very well in my previous employment."

"Can't refuse an offer like that can I? Ok, deal."

"Hold on there, what do I get if I win?"

Dante gave him an amused look before smirking as he responded "You won't, so how about this? After every shot you can ask one question and I'll answer as honestly as I can. We'll keep going until you call it quits or I have to carry you out. Sound good?"

Lucian considered the offer for a moment. '_And here I thought it was going to be tough getting my answers.' _He nodded.

Just then the bartender arrived with a large bottle full of amber colored liquid and two shot glass. He set them down and filled them to the brim, then he brought out a lighter and set the shots on fire. He then fished out two small straws and handed them to the duo.

Lucian stuck his hand out and covered the rim with his palm to extinguish the flame before quickly chugging the liquid down, a familiar burning sensation running across his throat. He glanced at Dante and watched as he took the glass and poured it straight into his mouth. He then opened his mouth to show Lucian that the fire was still lit, making him look like an odd lantern. '_Show off' _Lucian thought as he watched Dante swallow the burning liquid, a small wisp of steam escaping as he exhaled.

"Ok, first question . . ." Lucian started. ". . . Does your semblance have a weakness?"

"Still curious huh? If you really need to know, yes there are two drawbacks to my semblance. One is that if I use it at its fullest, I expend my aura rather quickly. In most cases it isn't an issue since I have an abnormally large reserve and I've never really faced an opponent who could take more than two hits from my semblance but if the fight is prolonged I run the risk of burning out."

"…"

"Second is that I either use my semblance to fight or heal. When I fight with it, my healing is standard for our kind. That's why I didn't start my accelerated healing until Kiara stopped attacking. Whenever I use my aura to heal there is steam so if you see me healing and there isn't steam, then I'm probably running low."

"Ok then," Lucian said before he turned to the bartender and signaled for refills. Once they were ready, the duo drank them down though this time Dante didn't play around with the fire.

"Next question, what are you going to do about Kiara joining the pack?"

"You'll have to elaborate that one."

"You know what happens when an abnormally strong packs form. You lived it in that academy. Now you and Kiara are fully fledged adults, at a completely different level from your academy days. Any local packs will start to respond to you as a threat and it could endanger the students or you might attract the attention of any solo faunus who might want to join or take over the pack."

"Solos like you?" Dante suddenly asked.

Lucian stayed silent, thinking his next words over carefully. He could see the dangerous glint in Dante's eyes, feel the burning pressure his presence created increase in intensity. Even if they were teammates and loose friends at best, he knew that if he challenged Dante or threatened any members of his pack, Dante would respond without hesitation. Before he wouldn't have been so hesitant at the idea of possibly challenging him but after learning about how dangerous he could actually be, Lucian was no longer feeling confident about the possible outcome, since he would likely lose.

Each Alpha breed had particular traits associated with them. The Red Lions were known for their absolute strength and fortitude. Lucian knew no amount of training would allow him to match Kiara's strength. Then the Grey Wolves have stamina and speed allowing them to travel vast distances or fight for extended amounts of time without worrying about tiring. If the stories he'd heard were accurate, then the Dragons had vitality and vast amounts of aura allowing them to adapt to essentially anything. He guessed that Dante had trained at a rate that would have killed anyone else to obtain his levels of speed and strength.

"I may be a solo but I don't have any interest in your pack," he replied evenly, his tone never wavering. '_I don't even know what kind of alpha you'll turn out to be . . .'_

"Why are you solo anyway?" Dante asked, his eyes remaining fixed on him. "There is no way a faunus as strong as you hasn't been searched out by a pack."

Lucian sighed as he looked at his empty glass, painful memories stirring in the back of his mind.

"I was in a pack . . . but I left for personal reasons. Let's leave it at that for now," he answered.

"I won't push it out of you . . . you can tell me whenever you feel like it. As for my pack, if anyone tries to hurt them I'll deal with them. If someone wants to join . . . hm . . . I'm honestly not sure," Dante said with a shrug.

He gestured to the bartender for another refill, this time lighting the shots himself with a tiny silver flame burning at the end of his index finger. They both took the shots in unison, the clang of glass ringing out as they set the glasses down. Lucian could feel the lightest numbing beginning to form in his fingers, his throat and windpipe burning with the expensive drink.

"Ok, now that we got some of the serious stuff out of the way, let's get to what we came here for but I warn you, some of my questions may seem odd," he said.

"Ask away," Dante replied.

"Ok, did you have something with Kiara before?"

Dante eyed him for a moment before he looked away and sighed. "Around the end of our junior year, Kiara and Orion went into an open relationship since they were butting heads more than usual. I was also rather 'open' relationship wise so at one point we sort of fooled around. . ."

"And . . .?" Lucian persisted, his curiosity peaking.

"One thing lead to another and well, it happened."

"Oh come on, more details than that."

"You sound just like Yang," Dante sighed. "We snuck out one night, went skinny dipping and fucked until the sun came up. Happy?"

"Didn't think you had it in you," Lucian joked. Dante smirked while flipping him off.

"Anyways, afterwards we decided that in the end we wouldn't work out, at least not romantically anyway. We were very close though and that's when I started seeing her as a sister. She could strut around naked and I'd be fine."

"Define close."

"Changed in front of each other, confided any worries, sometimes slept together. . ."

Lucian raised an eyebrow at that.

"Actually sleeping, you ass!"

Lucian chuckled as he raised his hands in surrender.

"She used to have nightmares. . ." Dante added softly.

"Why?" he asked gently.

"Abusive stepfather and a mother that wouldn't believe her," Dante answered curtly.

"Why didn't she handle it herself? I'm sure an Alpha like her wouldn't have had a problem dealing with a Beta or Gamma, since it was a step-father, meaning that her mother was the Alpha."

"Because her step-sister, Chui, wouldn't be able to bare choosing between her father and sister regardless of how cruel he may have been. That's why she wanted to leave home and stay as a pack after graduation," Dante explained.

"Oh . . . I see," Lucian said, his ears dropping down as he thought about how sad that was. Faunus are very susceptible to being abused by those close to them. Loyalty to blood-relations and hierarchy could incapacitate a faunus from defending themselves meaning that running away was often the only course of action.

"What . . . would you do . . . if you found her stepfather now?" Lucian asked cautiously.

Dante looked at him, his eyes momentarily flashing silver, as he answered. "Teach him what hell really is like." His voice was colder than ice as his killing intent surged for an instant before it disappeared. Lucian heard the bartender stumbled, shocked and confused from what he had felt. Even Lucian had to admit he felt a shiver run up his spine, Dante's killing intent carrying unrestrained wrath and bloodlust unnerving even him. '_Definitely not someone I want to get into a fight with.'_

He reached over and filled up the glasses, since the bartender looked too dazed to walk over, and gave Dante his drink. They knocked the shots down before Lucian continued.

"Ok, so why were you banging your head against the wall earlier?" he asked.

Dante scratched his cheek nervously before answering. "Well, I was with Athena, Kiara, and team RWBY just after Port's lecture. They were making plans to head into Vale later in the day and Athena asked me what I thought about it but the minute I looked at her smile, I got all heated up so I booked it."

"Heated up? Like . . ." Lucian glanced down to emphasize his point.

"I didn't stick around to find out," Dante deadpanned.

"And you have no idea why you reacted like that?" Lucian asked somewhat sarcastically. '_Dude, you can't be this dense.'_

Dante's blank stare answered his question. Lucian whistled as he reached for the bottle. "Next shot now," he ordered. They quickly took their shots.

"Be honest . . . what do you want to do when you see her?" he asked.

"Hold her close, protect her, and take away any pains or worries . . ." '_Holy Oum . . . he's a love struck puppy!'_ Lucian thought as Dante paused.

". . . And?" Lucian continued.

" . . . Kiss her . . ." Dante whispered as he looked down.

"Louder please . . . my hearing isn't what it used to be."

"Kiss her," Dante said slightly louder.

"Come again?" he said in an annoying tone.

"Kiss her, embrace her, tear off her clothes, and feel her nails dig into my back as she screams my name!" Dante nearly shouted earning a few looks from some of the other customers.

Lucian couldn't help but grin at that, finding Dante's blatant honesty very entertaining. He poured the next round and chugged it down before continuing.

"If you have these feelings, then why don't you do something about it?" he asked.

"Because . . . I'm already with someone and I don't know if these feelings aren't more than just physical desires," Dante answered in a crestfallen voice.

'_Dude . . . you are arrow through the heart, nailed to the spot, head over heels in love' _Lucian thought as he looked as his leader.

He poured another round.

"What is the girl's name and why are you with her?" he asked.

"Her name is Amber, she is a local to Vale and works in a small clothing store not too far from here. She is this cute little brunette with almond eyes and fair skin, classically shy and sweet."

"And you are with her because?" he persisted.

"Well, at first it was just a nice night and dinner. Then we went to the movies and she sort of started it but I'm the one that finished it with a kiss after our date."

"Ok but that isn't an answer. Why are you with her?"

"Because . . . she isn't like us," Dante answered. Lucian gave him a questioning look, unsure what he meant by that. '_What? Is it that she isn't a faunus?'_

Dante continued. "Lucian, you know as well as I do that those of us in the Slayer programs are monsters. We have all killed someone innocent at one point and our lives are full of loss, darkness, and horrors. Unlike me, she is innocent and kind, she doesn't have the weight of sins we carry on our shoulders . . ."

Lucian started to understand what he meant. At one point he had wondered if he could find someone to be with, a reason to let go of his lifestyle and find peace. It was childish hope. He knew that once someone goes through their experiences, the memories and pains will follow along. He has heard and read many cases where war veterans or retired hunters ended up alone since their partners could not handle the scars, whether emotional or psychological, and thus left them.

He looked at Dante for a moment before he asked a sudden question. "Dante, have you ever loved someone?"

Dante wasn't expecting that question at all, nearly knocking over his glass as he turned to look at him.

". . . I don't know . . ." he answered softly.

"Why?" Lucian asked sternly.

"Because, I've spent most of my life keeping others away, never fully trusting anyone," he answered.

"What about Kiara? You may not have any romantic interest in her but I could tell you two do love each other. Are you telling me that you never loved her as more when you were in a pack together?"

"If I did, I never realized it. When the attack happened, after watching Chui die, all I could think about was making sure no one laid a finger on Kiara. To be perfectly honest, I still didn't think I was that attached to them or feel like I had any special feelings for them but the moment she was in danger, I snapped."

Lucian poured another round.

"How much does Amber know about you?" he asked before downing the drink.

"I'm a hunter that does special training," Dante replied easily, his glass already empty.

"That's it?" Lucian asked incredulously. "She doesn't even know you aren't human?"

"No."

"Ok then . . ." '_This might sting but I think he should hear it' _Lucian thought as he chose his words carefully. "You want an honest opinion?"

Dante glanced at him for a moment before slowly nodding.

"You are with her for shallow and almost idealistic reasons. She doesn't know anything about you and she probably wouldn't even be able to handle the truth. If you never tell her, then your relationship will be a lie and it won't end happily. Honestly, I think you should break it off soon before it gets complicated," Lucian said.

"That delivery was cold, don't you think?" he replied sourly.

"You are a big boy, suck it up."

Dante smirked at that, getting that Lucian was trying to be helpful. After a few moments of silence Lucian stood up and waved the bartender over. He paid for the drinks and gestured for Dante to follow.

As they walked out Dante muttered "I won."

"What?" Lucian asked.

"We said that if you called it quits or I had to carry you out, it meant I won. You just called it quits by deciding to leave," Dante said with a grin.

"Fuck," Lucian groaned, already fearing just what kind of shenanigan Dante would try to make him pay for later on.

"Hehe, how about this? I know a good café near here. I'll treat us to some coffee and we can walk back to Beacon."

"Why walk?" asked Lucian.

"I'm not in any rush," he replied as he started for the coffee shop.

Lucian chuckled at his laid back manner but couldn't disagree that a coffee sounded nice so he started walking beside his leader, enjoying the quiet companionship they were forming.

* * *

"I wonder why he ran off like that."

"Am I the only one who saw steam coming off him?"

"I didn't see anything."

"Gotta learn to be a little more attentive there, Rubes. Don't want to be as slow on the uptake as Ice Queen, do you?"

"Hey!"

"Why don't we just ask him later?" suggested Blake.

'_This is really funny. I can't believe he got flustered so easily! Athena, you have to tell me your secret later'_ Kiara mused as she watched team RWBY try to decipher Dante's actions over milkshakes. After Dante had bolted and she stopped laughing her ass off, she and Athena sent team RWBY off to their next class while they planned the trip to Vale. They decided on taking the girls for a stroll and finding a decent ice cream shop. They happened upon a small shop called Aunty Betty's Creamery and settled down to enjoy some milkshakes, the house specialty.

Now she and Athena were silently watching the girls bicker back and forth on what had transpired this morning. She hadn't asked Athena if she knew what had happened at the time since she was fully aware of exactly what happened to Dante. '_Behold, the infamous Silver Demon. Doesn't even break a sweat when in a fight but loses it when the girl he likes smiles at him' _she thought sarcastically as she continued to listen to team RWBY debate.

"Maybe he felt light headed," Ruby suggested innocently.

"I don't think that's much of a reason to run away without properly excusing himself," Weiss said testily.

"Hey Athena, what do you think it was?" asked Yang, the other girls focusing on her now.

Athena fiddled with the straw of her treat before answering, a faint blush forming. "I'm not. . . exactly sure. All I did was smile at him and he just blushed and ran."

Kiara started to giggle at that, amused to see that Athena was obviously trying to dodge giving an honest answer. Everyone looked at her, confused as to why she was giggling.

"Sorry, it's just too funny," she said.

"What is?" asked Athena, her cheeks deepening in color.

"That he blushed because of you and you know it. He got all cute and shy because you smiled at him. That's why he ran," she explained.

"W-What? Are you sure about that?" Athena asked incredulously, her cheeks starting to turn bright red.

"Duh!"

"But I've smiled plenty of times at him and it's never happened before," Athena defended.

"Easy. Something happened last night didn't it?" she asked knowingly.

She had met up with Dante and Athena right outside their dorm and the moment they got close she could smell them on each other. She didn't say anything at the time, not really wanting to annoy Dante so early in the morning lest she risk him grabbing her ears again. Still, it was unmistakable that the two had been in contact for an extended period of time.

Athena's blush deepened even more as the girls eyed her, waiting for her answer.

"Well . . . after we got back, he had been rather quiet so I was going to go to bed when he hugged me from behind," she said nervously.

Weiss and Ruby gasped while Yang and Blake leaned in more, fixated on knowing what happened.

"We stood there for a while like that, just enjoying the quiet. Then I turned around to look at him an—"

"Where were his hands?" Kiara interrupted, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it anyway.

"Still around my waist," Athena answered sheepishly. Some of the girls blushed at that. '_Really? Blushing at hearing that? You guys are more innocent than I thought. We'll have to fix that later' _Kiara mused.

"Then?" she continued.

"After a few more minutes, he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek," Athena answer, her lips forming a faint smile.

"Ahh . . . look at you getting all cute and smiley too!" she teased, making Athena blush even more.

"I wonder how long it will take before we catch you two in the middle of something again," commented Yang before Weiss reached across the table and smacked her on the shoulder.

"Don't be so brash!" Weiss said indignantly.

"Again? What were you two doing?" asked Kiara, not aware of the past event.

"Oh you are going to love this!" exclaimed Yang, ignoring the glares from her teammates. "We walked in on Athena straddling Dante on their sofa."

Kiara gasped as she looked at Athena, the latter who was shrinking with embarrassment.

"That's not the best part. Dante had his hands cuffed above his head and Athena was running her hands down his stomach," Yang said with a shit-eating grin.

"How did that happen?" Kiara asked excitedly.

Athena fiddled with her hair as she answered. "We were talking and then he just stopped mid-sentence about something. . . He wouldn't say whatever it was so I tackled him down and whined for him to tell me while I formed crystal cuffs on his wrists. . . He still wouldn't break so I unzipped his sweater and tried tickling him but it didn't work. That's when they walked in. . ." she finished as she covered her face with her palms in embarrassment.

"Huh, that's pretty bold of you Athena," Kiara joked.

"Ok, can we change the subject now?" Athena asked hastily.

"Fine, fine. Then let's start heading back to Beacon. It's nearly 7 pm and we have class soon," said Kiara as she chugged the last bit of her chocolate milkshake. She instantly regretted the decision, a brain freeze striking her not a moment later. Some of the girls giggled as her eyes squeezed shut and her ears flattening down, waiting for it to pass.

"Oh my gosh, you guys look so cute when your ears do that!" Ruby cooed at Kiara.

Kiara looked at the little redhead, noting the classic look in her eyes. '_She wants to pet my ears, figures'_ she mused as she thought back to what she had discussed with Athena. They had spent some time talking about themselves and also Athena filling her in on what has happened recently. She had said that Dante has had a soft spot for Ruby in particular ever since he helped her deal with a team issue during the first official day of classes.

Looking at her now, Kiara could tell why Dante had that soft spot. He may have been cold to others back in Othrys but he never once picked on the underclassmen. In fact he was rather nice to them and if they came to him for help or advice, he would give it. He may have been hated by his fellow seniors since he defeated most of them but many of the first and second years looked up to him, idealizing his strength and kindness.

Ruby acts just like some of those underclassmen from back then. Young, energetic, and looking to grow as a person and huntress. Exactly the kind of person Dante always helped. That and she was downright adorable meaning Dante probably couldn't even get angry with her if he tried.

She smiled to herself, thinking back on this happy times. She then glanced at Ruby, the redhead still focused on her ears. She gently sighed as she leaned down slightly, allowing for the shorter girl to reach comfortably.

Ruby gave her a questioning look, unsure whether it really meant she had permission.

"It's ok Ruby, I don't mind. Just don't be rough, ok?" she said softly. The other girls took notice and watched silently.

Ruby nodded slightly before slowly reaching up and gingerly trailing one finger on the side of her ear. Her ear twitched occasionally, the contact tickling her slightly. After a minute or so Ruby retracted her hand before jumping excitedly.

"They are so soft and adorable!" she squealed.

Kiara giggled at how happy the little redhead was and watched as she hopped out the doors, Weiss, Athena, and Yang following close behind leaving Blake standing beside her.

"What's up?" asked Kiara, knowing that something was on the cat's mind.

Blake looked hesitant to answer, probably looking for the right words to speak her mind.

"You don't need to be so nervous. It's not like I'm going to hurt you and we are now in the same pack so just tell me whatever," she said calmly and in a friendly voice.

Blake seemed to settle down. "Is it ok for you to let her pet your ears so casually?" Blake asked.

"Hmm . . . well is there anything really wrong with it? I gave her consent and she was gentle just like I asked."

"Yes but isn't it much letting someone you just met pet your heritage like some random animal?" Blake said in a cold tone.

Kiara studied Blake for a moment, the cat starting to shrink back thinking that she overstepped.

Kiara sighed before responding. "Haven't you considered that we treat our heritage much like some overly valued treasure? It perfectly fine to be proud of your faunus features but treating the curiosity of others as disrespect or dehumanization doesn't really do any good."

Blake looked taken aback by Kiara's remark, her own bow flattening down as she took a step back.

"I know most humans tend to treat our features with disgust or disrespect but that doesn't mean we should treat the kind and genuinely curious ones like the rest. I believe letting them feel them for themselves helps remove a veil over their eyes, showing them that these ears are real, they are part of my body, and there is nothing wrong with that," she said in a soft yet firm voice.

"I never really thought of it that way. . ." Blake replied. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I did."

"Don't worry about it. If you hadn't then I would have been able to tell you how I feel about it and understand your own perspective." Kiara said as she gently placed her hand on Blake's shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

Blake smiled back, relief evident in her eyes. Then the two walked out together, lightly jogging to catch up to their friends heading for the transport.

* * *

"So is the teacher always late?" asked Kiara.

"Sometimes but she is usually punctual," replied Thantos.

"I wonder what's keeping her?" asked Crato as he twirled a switchblade in his hand.

"Dante, entertain me," she whined, her boredom getting the best of her.

She had heard a few things about Nyx, mostly bad, and was really curious to see what she is like but they have been in the class for over half an hour and the professor still hasn't appeared.

"I'm not here to entertain you Kiara. Learn to be patient," Dante grumbled back, his head slumped over his arms as if he was trying to take a nap.

Kiara was seated behind Dante and Athena so they were the closest ones for her to mess around with. She looked at Athena and was about to ask if she wanted to play rock-paper-scissors again but then decided against it. For some reason Athena was really good at that game and kept winning. Right now she seemed to be doodling something one a spare piece of paper but she couldn't tell what.

She wondered whether now would be a good time to tease the love-struck partners but it didn't look like it would be as funny as she had previously hoped. The Slayers had met up in the dorms and Dante was far more relaxed around Athena, not blushing when Athena smiled at him though he did instantly smile back. She wondered what had happened in the time he had been gone but would wait for later in the night to ask.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the door to the classroom suddenly slammed shut, the noise making her jump. A women in mostly black leather and a trench coat, her dark brunette hair pulled into a ponytail, as she leaned against the front desk, a small file in her hands. The Slayers stayed quiet, waiting for the professor to speak.

"Slayers . . ." Nyx began ". . . it looks like you runts are about to be put to good use," she said as she waved the file.

"About time!" Crato said as he put away his knife.

"What do we got?" asked Dante, no longer looking like he was trying to sleep.

"Just your first mission," Nyx answered as she opened the file, all the Slayers leaning forward excitedly. '_Great! First class and already down to business'_ Kiara thought as she focused on Nyx.

* * *

**Author's Rant: So, getting to some more action and developments. I liked the bit between Kiara and Blake to show a difference of perspectives. Let me know if you have any comments about that little exchange. Next update should be out soon, so until next time!**


	27. Prepare

**Author's Note: And here we are with chapter 27! Hope you enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"So, how do you guys want to go about this?" asked Dante.

"Well, most of what Nyx gave us were details on the target and the event he is attending. We are going to have to come up with the rest on our own along with the plan," answered Lucian.

"Thantos, roll out the building layout Nyx gave us," instructed Dante.

"Got it," replied Thantos as he placed the large blueprint sheet across the table.

They looked down at the blueprints of the building. It was a nearly four-story mansion built on the shore edges of Vale, overlooking the abandoned docks used decades ago. The design was rather simple, the floor plan formed a large U with an open courtyard situated in the empty space with a veranda overlooking the sea. The activity or 'ball' would take place in the courtyard while the left half of the structure would serve as the staff quarters and kitchens. The right was under heavier watch since it's various rooms would be used as private spaces for any VIP's attending, overlooking part of the abandoned docks and ocean.

"Anyone see a point of entry they would prefer?" asked Athena as she leaned over the table.

Lucian pointed to the sea front and suggested. "Dante and I could swim and climb up the cliff end using the waves to cover any sound."

"Why only you and Dante?" asked Havasu.

"The water temperature won't affect either of us due to our semblances so any random weather conditions will not hamper our movement," Lucian explained.

"Normally, I would agree with that plan but they might have higher watches on the sea side. The veranda overlooking the cliffs will be heavily used during the ball so we can expect security to be tight. Also, if the sea is too calm you could be spotted," said Athena.

"Wait a moment. . ." said Crato as he put his finger on the schematic ". . . this area here is an underground garage and parking deck."

"Makes sense, the guests won't exactly want to leave their cars out in front now would they" Havasu said jokingly.

"True enough but look. There is a passageway connecting to a small dock opening on the left end of the building. I bet that they have small escape boats docked underneath. It could make a quiet exit," Crato replied.

"Yes but to even get access you would need to break in from the water front or . . . be a chauffeur," Thantos finished softly, his expression heavy in thought.

"What's on your mind?" Dante asked.

"What if we got invited to the event?" Thantos suddenly asked.

". . ."

"Umm . . . you do realize this is a high society event, right?" asked Dante. "Only the CEO's of top companies, military heads, council members, and other notable families. If we had official Ghost clearance it would be easy but this isn't an officially sanctioned operation."

"And if I could get us an invite?" Thantos retorted.

Dante gave him a suspicious look. "How?"

"I got some contacts from past jobs. I could manage to get us one invitation," Thantos answered.

"That still doesn't let all of us get in," stated Lucian.

"Actually it does," Kiara interjected. "In the files Nyx gave us it says that it's common for the guests to have private guards, servants, and so forth. If one of us is the guest, the others could play servants and guards."

"Yes, but more than two attendants would raise suspicions. Trust me, when I body guarded at these sort of events, if someone had too much protection then there was a red flag," Lucian said.

"Ok, then how about this? Athena looks like a member of a powerful family I know. If I get her an invitation then two of us can pose as guards or servants," Thantos explained.

"Ok, then the other four of us?" asked Crato.

"Do you know how to drive cars or boats?" asked Thantos.

"Both."

"Then you can be a chauffeur and clear out our getaway," answered Thantos.

"If we get our hands on a limo then Kiara can stow away in the car and help you once you are in the garage," added Dante.

"Why me?" asked Kiara.

"Because, they will be on guard for weapons and it's bound to have cameras everywhere. You and Crato won't need weapons to handle any guards they may have in the lower levels. If you don't fight with your regular weapons it will help you remain anonymous," he elaborated.

"True."

"That leaves for two members needing to find ways in," commented Crato.

"I can handle that," said Havasu with a smirk.

"Ok then, who will be my two servants?" asked Athena.

"Lucian and I," answered Dante. "Both of us can track you through smell lowering the risk of separation and our hearing will let you give us directions without detection."

"I agree besides, if the target is stubborn we can just show him Dante's pretty smile," Lucian said with a grin. Dante replied with his own toothy grin, fangs flashing.

"Hey . . . does anyone find it odd that we haven't been told what information we are supposed to get out of him?" asked Athena.

The others looked at her, their expressions mixed between concern and confusion. It seemed that most of them had not noticed that detail.

"Nyx actually mentioned something before I left," Dante said. "The specific questions we are meant to ask will be supplied to us the night of."

"That in itself is odd," commented Lucian.

"Maybe it has to do with the fact that this operation isn't even going to be on the record books. They won't risk exposing the reasoning behind it until it's time and too late for any spies or watchers to notice our movement," replied Havasu.

"We will just handle that problem when we get there. For now let's just make the plans for how we are doing this," said Kiara.

"Ok then . . ." Dante began, his tone serious "Thantos, get us that invitation and Athena, go with him to start compiling our alias. Kiara and Crato, go to the armory and look for Brick. See what weapons he has along the lines of discreet and small. Havasu, get the other two entries needed."

"What are you and Lucian going to do?" asked Kiara.

"I think Lucian and I will head to the mansion tonight and get familiar with the area. It shouldn't have any security or occupants right now and we don't know if there have been any alterations to the structure since this schematic was taken."

"It's three hours away by car but we should be able to make it in less than one if we really book it," commented Lucian as he pulled up a map of the area on his scroll.

"No rush, we have three weeks," commented Crato.

"More like two. The week before the event we can expect the place to have a complete makeover and security placed along every border. The sooner we scope it out the better," returned Lucian, still inspecting the map.

"Not to mention the week fine tuning the plan and learning our aliases," added Athena.

"Now then. If that's it for the first stage of planning, then everyone head out," ordered Dante as he headed to his room.

He could hear the others shuffle out as they proceeded with their assigned tasks. He changed into some old jeans and black long-sleeve shirt before packing some spare clothes and water bottle for the trip. He stuffed his gear into a small duffle bag and walked back out into the common room and messaged Athena while waiting for Lucian. A few minutes passed before he appeared as well, dresses in similar black jeans and dark grey sweat-shirt.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he approached the common room window.

"Yeah. By the way, I messaged Athena and let her know we won't be back until tomorrow night so we can properly scout the area," Dante replied as he followed behind.

Lucian nodded and the two jumped out into the night, bee lining for the mansion under the cover of darkness.

* * *

"So you think the abandoned dock over by the right edge will be the best exit spot?"

"It could work. The pictures Dante and Lucian brought back show that there are some outcroppings along the docks that could supply cover," Havasu answered. "Not to mention that if you guys get the target in his own VIP room, then the window overlooking the sheer drop is all you'll need."

"Then we would have Crato and Kiara meet up with us farther down the coast, right?" asked Athena.

"Ideally," responded Havasu as he took a sip of his coffee.

The two were out in Vale enjoying a casual break in a local café. It was Wednesday, around noon, and the two were waiting around for a message from Thantos. After Dante had sent each of them out, Athena and Thantos had gotten into contact some old acquaintances and tried to pull in some favors. It resulted with Thantos needing to head out to Mistral to personally set up the invitation and aliases needed. While she waited for him to contact her, she accompanied Havasu for a small task.

He had looked into some files regarding the ball and managed to track down one of the managers selecting the staff for the event. That manager was siting six tables behind them now enjoying an iced coffee and scones. He looked middle aged, his hair starting to grey around the tips. He was dressed in kaki pants and a white button short, attention focused on his scroll.

She glanced back at the man, looking to see if he had noticed them following him for the last hour. He seemed fully oblivious meaning that the Slayers could proceed as planned. They had dressed different than usual, Havasu wearing dark colors and hiding his hair and eyes with some shades and a cap, a small bag slung over his shoulder.

She is also wearing contacts that make her eyes look green rather than their usual sapphire blue. Her hair was also pulled back into a pony-tail with a yellow ribbon and she was dressed in bright colors making her look like a teenage girl. '_If Dante saw me like this, I might just die of embarrassment' _she thought as she looked at her reflection in a small mirror she brought along. She had purposely waited until they had left Beacon to tie the ribbon and put on the contacts since she knew it would make her look childish.

"Whenever you are ready," said Havasu as he got up and headed to the bathroom, snapping her out of her embarrassing thoughts.

Athena waited until he was out of sight before standing up and casually walking towards the man. Once she was passing beside the man's table, she stumbled into his chair making him jump.

"Excuse me, are you ok?" he asked in an irritated tone.

"Sorry," she replied in an innocent manner, faking a smile.

"No worries, I was just on my way out," he replied curtly as he stood up.

As he started to move away, Athena moved forward, tripping up against his empty chair.

She yelped as she fell forward, the man catching her as he reacted to her getting so close, partly spilling some of his coffee.

"I'm so sorry," she squeaked.

"Clumsy one aren't you?" the man asked as he pushed her away.

"I know, I'm such a klutz"

"Clearly," he replied as pulled out a napkin and dabbed at his sleeve.

"Is everything alright here?" asked a waiter as he started to wipe up some of the coffee off the table.

"Fine, just dealing with a clumsy girl," the man replied crossly.

"Sir, you have coffee on your sleeve?" the waiter asked as he reached for the man's clean sleeve.

"Are you blind?" the man nearly screeched as he whirled around on the waiter.

The waiter backed up with his hands raised before saying "Apologies."

The man huffed in frustration and set some lien on the table before he started to walk away. Athena watched as he left the café and rounded a corner, disappearing from view. She then glanced at the waiter and smirked before saying "Apologies? You sounded so formal."

The waiter grinned back, maple colored eyes looking at her.

"Hey, being a kiss up is how you get a good tip," replied Havasu.

"How did you get the waiter's clothes?" she asked.

"Snuck around yesterday and nicked it when one of staff members was on break," he explained as he removed the café apron and cap. He dropped it on the chair and put on his regular cap before walking out, Athena close behind.

Once they were about a block away from the café, Athena removed her ribbon with a sigh of relief, wanting to return to the dorm.

"So, did you get it?" asked Havasu beside her.

"Yep," she replied happily as she showed him the prize. It was a small ID card that had the man's picture and a code bar on the back.

She handed it to Havasu as they walked, pondering just how he planned to use one measly ID.

"This is exactly what I needed," Havasu commented.

"How so?"

"I can use the code to hack into the database for the security of the ball. From there all I have to do is place Thantos and myself in the staff list and print out our own ID's," he explained.

"Isn't it possible for them to track that ID once you tap into the network or the guy realizes he lost his card?" she asked.

"I'd say I have a 2 hour window before he realizes he was robbed. In that time I can hack in, get multiple access codes to various data banks and erase this card. If the card ID no longer exists on file, then you can't track it. I'll also create a new one and use it to enter Thantos and myself later on."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Then let's get back to Beacon and update the team."

"Heard that. Say, you think Dante and Lucian are still sleeping?"

"Maybe, they did look really tired when they got back," she replied as she thought back to last night.

The two had returned smelling like salt and sweat, apparently they decided on swimming around the coast and checking out the cliff running along the edges of the mansion. The weather had been rough as well so the simple scouting mission had become tougher than expected, raining heavily throughout the night as they ran back. When they arrived, both immediately took showers, snacked and then passed out. At least Dante had said a quick 'goodnight' to her before he clocked out.

They resumed walking back to the transport when Athena received a message. She pulled out her scroll and checked it to see that it was from Thantos.

It read 'Got your invite. Attached is the files for your alias along with Dante's and Lucian's. Learn them quick. P.S. I'll be back by tomorrow night.'

She opened the attachments and looked at the alias supplied, her eyes going wide when she spotted Dante's and Lucian's.

"What's up?" asked Havasu when he noticed her look.

"Oh, they are going to love this," she replied with a grin, resuming her walk to the transport.

* * *

"495…496… 497… 498… 499… 500."

"Are you done working out yet?"

"No, I still have to practice kicking and then weapons sparing with Crato later today."

"Oh come on! It's Friday already and you blew us off for the Vale trip. Let's go into the city today!"

"Kiara, we only have two weeks until the mission and we need to prepare as much as we can," Dante replied testily.

"Boo . . . you're boring," she whined.

"By the way, are you going to get off my feet any time soon?"

"Nope, I'm comfy."

Dante groaned tiredly as he remained in his handstand position, waiting for her to move. She had been bored for most of the morning since everyone seemed to have plans for the day. Lucian and Havasu left for the training grounds with team JNPR, most of team RWBY, and most of team CFVY. Blake and Velvet were studying together in the library along with Athena and Thantos. That left Crato but he left for a morning run and hasn't returned yet so she searched out Dante to see if he wanted to do anything.

She found him in the gym doing one of his favored exercises. He would go into a handstand and place himself under a weighted bar, usually the ones used for power-squats, and then fully extend his legs to push up the bar. Then he would start doing hand-stand pushups while balancing the weighted bar on the soles of his feet. She had arrived just as he started and to bug him, she jumped up and landed on the center of the bar atop his feet.

'_Just 500 lbs. Dante? That's pretty light for you' _she mused as she looked at the plates to her sides. She was about to ask why he started so light when suddenly he kicked up with his feet, sending the bar up several feet into the air while he got on his feet and placed one hand up, allowing the bar to land neatly in his palm. She landed beside him, having dismounted the bar when it started falling.

"Warning would have been nice," she muttered as he replaced the bar on the stand and started removing the weights.

"Nah," he retorted as he finished storing the weights.

He started walking over to the open space in the gym meant to spar and practice techniques. She watched as he set up his Thai stance, balanced on the ball of his foot while he practiced kicking with his right leg, snapping his shin forward and back in less than a second. She continued to watch him for a few minutes, observing the differences in his movement and speed since the last time she saw him fight. '_There is no question about it. If he had fought me seriously when I attacked him, I wouldn't have landed a hit on him.'_

Dante switched up his stance and started practicing jab and hook combinations, his fists a blur as he launched anywhere from three to seven punches.

"How about you spar against me?" she asked after watching for several minutes.

Dante glanced at her before responding. "If you and I decided to spar, we would destroy the entire gym. I already have Glynda watching me without me doing anything. Last thing I need is her having a reason to get on my ass."

"I hear you…do you think she has something against faunus like us?" she asked.

Dante took a moment to respond. "I don't know. She doesn't treat the regular fauna in any particular way but it's obvious that she gets uneasy whenever one of us three get near her."

"Some sort of history then?"

"…Maybe…I don't really want to look into it either way."

"Why not? Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"Sure I am, it's just that I don't care either way. As long as it doesn't interfere with our jobs and she doesn't mettle in our business, then it doesn't matter."

Kiara tapped her chin in thought, wondering why Glynda would have any particular reason to be wary of Alpha breeds. Sure, it was natural to be scared of them and Alphas tended to justly cause those fears but something about Glynda's demeanor was bothering her. She was about to ask Dante if he might have any ideas as to why Glynda acted that way but then she heard someone approaching.

She looked at the gym entrance just as Athena walked in, dressed in casual shorts and blouse, a few files tucked under her arm. Dante noticed her approaching as well, exiting his fight stance and walking over until he was beside Kiara and weighted until Athena got close.

"Hi," they greeted in unison.

"Hey," Athena replied warmly.

"What's up? I thought you were studying in the library?" asked Kiara.

"Finished some time ago and I was just looking over some of the files," she answered.

"Got to say, I'm impressed with the details Thantos put into those. Very thorough aliases," commented Dante.

"You are a family butler, right?" asked Kiara. She had looked only a little into the files since her job was focused on the lower garage and clearing the exit meaning it wouldn't matter if she had an alias.

"Yep," replied Dante. "Already memorized my name, history, and even some mannerisms reported on the actual butler."

"That may be so but I noticed that you don't have experience behaving as a butler and you are missing the uniform," said Athena.

Dante rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I thought I could just borrow a suite from Lucian."

Athena shook her head. "No sir. If you are going to be my butler, then you are going to dress properly. Head back to the dorm and get changed, we are heading to Vale and going on a shopping trip."

"But . . ."

"No buts. March," Athena ordered, stopping whatever excuse Dante was trying to use.

"Fine . . ." Dante muttered in defeat, turning to leave the gym.

He took two steps before Athena cleared her throat, making him turn to look at her.

"Is that how a butler excuses themselves?" she asked with a smirk.

Dante sighed before he faced her fully and bowed with his right arm crossing his chest. "Yes…my lady."

"Thank you. That will be all," Athena said, trying to hold back her laughter.

Kiara was trying to hold back from laughing as well, already planning on how to take advantage of Dante's new role. Dante groaned as he turned and started to walk away, exiting the doors and disappearing from view.

Kiara looked at Athena, still giggling before saying. "You are a sly one."

"Oh please, you would have done the same thing," she retorted.

"True."

"So, want to come along?" she asked.

"Sure. It will be fun ordering him around."

"Then lets head to the transport," she said as she started to head out as well, Kiara following close behind. '_This is going to be fun . . .'_

* * *

**_Author's Rant: Hope this chapter got you guys hyped for the mission. Still a ways to go before I get to it though (shouldn't take long)_**

**_Until next time!_**

**_Fav~Follow~Review!_**


	28. Finishing Touches

**Author's Note: The title is self explanatory. Enjoy!**

**Betas: Noobalisious and Yuvinile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"Has anyone noticed that the Slayers seem to be really busy lately?"

"Maybe they have tests to prepare for as well," commented Ruby.

"I don't think so. I keep seeing them scramble around all day and they keep having meetings in ASCZ's dorm every other night. I think something is going on."

"Keeping tabs on the Slayers are we . . ." Yang said in a teasing tone making Blake scowl at her.

Blake along with Yang and Ruby had decided to spend their Monday afternoon in the library catching up on some readings assigned by professor Oobleck. It took less than 30 minutes for Yang to drop her textbook and crack open some comic, Ruby close behind. Blake herself had remained focused for about an hour or so before her thoughts began to distract her.

The day Dante suddenly ran out on the Vale trip, he and Lucian had disappeared during the night and didn't reappear until two nights later. She had happened to be out for a moonlight stroll when the Slayers appeared, covered in mud and smelling like fish dragged through a swamp. She had asked why they looked like that but Dante had told her to not worry and immediately returned to his dorm. The following day, he still wouldn't elaborate on the subject only making her worry more. The other Slayers seemed to be just as busy, some not even appearing in their usual positions as teaching assistants.

She wasn't the only one noting the odd behavior but whenever anyone asked the Slayers about it, they never got straight answers. They also seemed to be training heavily, often staying in the arenas or training fields for several hours at a time. At the very least they did remember to take their respective mentees and continue their own training but even then, they were less chatty and seemed to have their focus placed somewhere else.

'_Why is this bothering me so much? Maybe I'm looking into it too much . . .' _Blake thought as she stared at her book, not registering a single word as she passed over the page.

"Blake? Hey Blake . . . Remnant to Blake . . . Blake!" called Yang as she poked her shoulder.

"What!" she replied irritably.

"You spaced out there," said Ruby with a concerned look.

". . . Sorry . . . just a little preoccupied is all."

"Yeah well, heads up. Looks like we have a pissed-off Ice Queen inbound," said Yang as she pointed towards the library entrance.

Blake watched as Weiss stalked towards them, clearly angered about something as she muttered to herself, too low for Blake's hearing to make out. They remained quiet as the heiress sat down beside Ruby and let out a tired sigh.

"Umm . . . Weiss, what's wrong?" asked Ruby softly.

Weiss gave her a side glance as she took a breath before speaking. "I just finished speaking to my father and I don't like the results of the discussion."

"What was it about?" asked Yang.

"Well, there is an event happening in less than two weeks that I really wanted to attend but my father forbid me," she answered.

"What event?" asked Blake.

"It's called the Crescent Fall Dance. It's a high-class party set to commemorate the official beginning of autumn and this year it is being held near Vale. I was hoping to go this year but it looks like I can't."

"There is a party for the beginning of fall? How come I've never heard of it?" asked Yang.

"Because this party is also a meeting of some of the kingdom's most influential individuals. Company representatives, family heads, and high-ranking military personnel," Weiss explained.

"So why did you want to go?" asked Ruby.

"I wanted to go because as an aspiring huntress and next head of the SDC, meeting these people and forming ties are crucial to future success…" Weiss's cheeks started to gain a pinkish tint "…and since each guest is allowed a plus 1, I had hoped that you would go with me, Ruby."

Ruby looked at her in shock for a few seconds before she smiled widely and gave Weiss a hug.

"Of course I would go with you!" she nearly shouted happily.

Weiss faintly smiled but it didn't last. "We could have gone but now I've been forbidden."

"Kind of makes me feel left out, you planning on taking my sister somewhere without letting me know or inviting the rest of your team," Yang commented sourly.

"Hey, I didn't make the rules and besides, unlike Blake or Ruby, you would not have liked going since you lack decorum and grace," Weiss retorted making Yang stick her tongue out at her.

"Anyways . . ." interjected Ruby before the exchange could escalate ". . . how about we plan something to do together? Vale has a small festival to mark the beginning of fall every year happening around the same time as that party and it lasts for three nights. We could all go together and even invite teams JNPR and CFVY."

"Perhaps the Slayers would be interested in joining as well," Blake added.

"Yeah, it will be fun!" agreed Ruby.

"Well I must admit that it does sound nice. Ok then, we will go and ask around to see if anyone else is interested," said Weiss as she stood up.

The others followed suit and exited the library together. As they passed into one of the open air hallways Blake caught a familiar scent in the air. She stood still, trying to place the direction it was coming from until Yang noticed she had stopped moving.

"Blake, everything ok?" she asked.

"Um . . . yeah, everything is fine. I'll meet up with you girls later," Blake answered as she turned down a corner, heading for the cliffs overlooking the Emerald forest.

" . . . Ok . . ." she heard Yang mumble as she got farther away, more focused on her current objective.

She arrived at the cliffs a few minutes later, a familiar figure sitting on a branch overlooking the cliffs. She walked up to the tree and waited for the Alpha to notice her, not wanting to possibly interrupt his rest.

"You can just hop up here you know," he said without turning to look at her.

She followed his instructions and jumped up, neatly landing beside him and adjusting herself to sit down. Once comfortable she looked at his face. He had his eyes closed, a gentle breeze ruffling his hair as he sighed in content.

"What's up Blake?" he asked.

" . . . Not much," she replied, unsure whether to ask about the strange behavior of the Slayers.

"Wondering what's up with the Slayers?" he asked as he opened his eyes to look at her.

"H-How did you know?" she asked, perplexed as to how Dante knew what was troubling her.

"Pack link," he stated simply.

"What?" she asked, completely confused as to what he meant.

"I haven't really talked to you much about it but when in a pack, depending on the level of trust or closeness of members, you can form a bond through aura that lets you read the emotions of another member. I could feel your discomfort and then guessed what might be troubling you."

"But how did you know it wasn't something else?"

"Because you and plenty of the other students have been asking questions about what we've been doing and you gave off the same feeling every time you asked me about something to do with our current activities."

"So then will you finally give me a straight answer?"

Dante eyed her for a moment, seemingly contemplating whether to answer or not.

"Simply put, we are preparing for a mission," he answered.

"A mission? What is it?" she asked, her curiosity now peaked.

"Sorry but I can't tell you that," he answered.

"Why not?" she asked, slightly annoyed that he wouldn't go into further details.

"Because I can't."

She pouted at him but he just smirked back. She thought back to how Kiara made a kitten face to get him to let go of her ear and tried to copy it. She focused on her eyes, willing them to expand while her ears flattened down under the bow and her bottom lip started to quiver. Dante's smirk instantly disappeared but he still seemed to be holding out.

'_Fine, if this isn't enough then I'll do . . . that,' _she thought, a blush already beginning to form on her cheeks from the embarrassment that would surely follow.

She leaned closer and placed her hand against his shoulder before locking eyes with him.

"Nyan . . ."

She meowed like a kitten and Dante's reaction was instant. His cheeks darkened as he blushed, trying to say something but couldn't get a word out. '_That's it! Just a little more and he'll crack!'_

Before she could make the sound again Dante interrupted "Oh no you don't!"

He brought both his hands up and pinched her cheeks, breaking her concentration so her eyes would revert to normal.

"Oh look at my cute little kitty," he said in a mocking tone while grinning.

"Stop it!" she yelped as she tried to swipe at his hands but he kept dodging and replacing his hands every time.

It lasted for a few more seconds before he finally relented, removing his hands though she kept a careful eye on them, her cheeks cherry red as she pouted even more at him.

"Don't give me that face, you are the one that started it," Dante chuckled.

"Still doesn't make up for it," she mumbled back.

"Fine, next time I'll just go for your ears."

Blake glared at him, trying to tell if it was a tease or legitimate threat.

"You wouldn't dare . . ." she said slowly.

"Are you willing to risk it?" Dante retorted.

Blake maintained the stare for a few seconds before relenting, knowing full well that Dante would do it.

"Hehe . . . don't worry. It's not something I would do in front of others aside from our pack members," he said softly.

"But you did it to Kiara," she interjected.

"Well, Kiara is a big girl and she knew exactly what she was getting herself into. I have no problem doing something embarrassing to her since she won't hold back against me. I'll be far more forgiving with you or Velvet."

Blake faintly smiled before speaking "Thanks for that."

"No problem," he replied. He looked back out at the forest for a moment before he knit his eyebrows together, thinking about something. "By the way Blake, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" she asked.

"How do you feel about Kiara being a new member to the pack?" he asked seriously.

Blake took a moment to think about it. Honestly she had been rather intimidated by Kiara at first and felt something akin to jealousy when Kiara latched on to Dante that night in the cafeteria. It didn't help that she had to watch as Kiara gored Dante's shoulder with her spear. But as the week went by, she started to see how friendly and warm Kiara could be. Kiara also wasn't angered when Blake confronted her about their heritage and how they believed it should be treated.

" . . . At first I was apprehensive but with how things have gone, I'm starting to get more comfortable with her."

Dante seemed relieved with her answer, his expression returning to that of relaxation.

"I'm glad to hear it. I know she can be a handful at times but in the end she really is a warm and caring person," he said.

"Mhmm," Blake agreed as she leaned over and placed her head on Dante's shoulder, enjoying the warmth radiating off him.

"Feeling cuddly are we?" Dante asked in a teasing yet soft tone.

"You said I didn't have to ask and it's been awhile since we've been alone like this," she replied softly.

Dante chuckled softly but didn't make any more comments as he resumed looking at the forest. They stayed silent for some time, enjoying the peace and quiet until Blake remembered the plans her team had made.

"Hey Dante."

"Yes?"

"I was wondering. The team made a plan to attend a festival in Vale and we were wondering if the Slayers would like to go," she said.

"When is the festival?" he asked.

"In about two weeks. Ruby said it lasts for about three days and it will be the first time attending for a lot of us. It would really mean a lot to us if you guys came along."

Dante sighed softly before speaking. "I'm not too sure about that. It sounds like this festival falls on a bad time for us."

Blake raised her head to look at him. He looked genuinely sorry about telling her it wouldn't work out.

"Is it the mission?" she asked, already suspecting it as the prime reason as to why they couldn't go.

Dante nodded slowly.

"But the festival lasts for several days . . . your mission can't take that long," she said softly.

"I don't know if there will be any complications. I wouldn't want to bring your hopes up just to let you down."

"But you guys are the elites. There's no way anything could slow you down."

" . . . I don't know . . ."

"Please . . ." she almost begged.

She wanted to spend real quality time with everyone, her pack in particular. The chance to enjoy a festival, something she had never been able to experience as a child, with a team that accepted her and her new family found through the pack was something she did not want to let slip by.

She looked into his eyes for what felt like hours until he broke the stare with a sigh before speaking.

"Who could say no to that face," he said softly. "I'll try and get us back on time. We won't make the first day for sure but if everything goes according to plans than we will be back by the second night."

He smiled at Blake. She returned the gesture and then pulled him into a hug, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

"Thank you," she said warmly, already looking forward to the festival and the memories it would bring.

Dante returned the hug, a tricky maneuver considering their seats, and remained there for a few moments before slowly releasing the hug.

"By the way, I know this is a little odd but could you not tell the others we have a mission?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you aren't supposed to know about it. It's already a stretch that I told you. Can you promise not to tell?"

Blake thought about it for a moment before she nodded. "I promise I won't tell but you have to promise to make it to the festival," she said as she raised her right pinky.

Dante looked at her finger for a moment before he smiled and locked his pinky with hers.

"It's a pinky promise then."

* * *

*Time skip two weeks, day of Crescent Fall Dance*

"I must say, you look rather stunning tonight Ms. Sapphirus."

"Didn't think you were one for flattery, Ozpin."

"Everything in moderation more like it," Ozpin retorted as he sipped from his mug.

'_Then show up without that coffee mug for once,'_ Athena mused as she waited for her ride to arrive. It was around 5 pm and her fellow Slayers were late. To prepare for the night's operation, Havasu and Thantos had left two days prior since the staff for the event stayed in the building. Lucian, Crato, and Kiara left for Vale a few hours ago to pick up a limo Havasu had set up as their transport. That left Athena and Dante to get ready for pick up before they started the three hour drive to the dance.

Ozpin had taken the liberty of seeing them off and now stood with Athena as she waited in a small courtyard beside the only road that lead up to Beacon. While the main entrance and courtyard were aimed at the north facing Vale and the airships, Beacon had a small road along the east side mainly used for small shipments and private visits. The Slayers had decided that a discreet exit along the road would be simpler than leaving as a group on a transport and drawing attention to themselves.

She looked down at her dress, hoping she hasn't overdressed for the occasion. Lucian had said to pull out any stops and dress to impress. She had gone with a black dress that reached just past her knees with a slit down her right thigh, closely hugging her frame to show off her figure. It was sleeveless, held up by a cloth collar that connected to the dress with a black lace material. The actual dress itself started just at her chest, more revealing than what she would normally wear, and is open backed. To accompany the look, she had her hair braided in a French style with a silver band tying the end and black heels. She had similar bands around her biceps, each with an insignia carved in looking like the shattered moon.

She had matching silver earrings shaped like crescent moons and black gloves reaching her elbows. The last steps was a light amount of makeup, cherry red lipstick and her contacts to make her eyes look emerald green rather than their regular sapphire blue but she would put them on once they arrived. She also had a small hand pursue to carry the contacts, her scroll, and her invitation.

"Where is he?" she muttered to herself, wondering what was taking Dante so long.

She had dressed in Kiara's room since Kiara had wanted to help with makeup and so forth but after she finished the trickier bits, she returned to her dorm to finish dressing. When she got there, Dante was locked up in the bathroom doing something and told her to go on ahead. That had been nearly thirty minutes ago and she was starting to get impatient and Ozpin glancing at her between sips of his coffee was not helping.

She heard some footsteps coming from the other side of the courtyard and looked but was met with multiple people approaching, none of whom were her partner. It was team RWBY, dressed in outing clothes, walking towards her.

Once they got close Ruby was the first to speak. "Wow Athena, you look amazing!"

"Who are you trying to impress?" Yang said as she looked her up and down.

"Just felt like dressing up is all," she lied.

The last few weeks had been tricky with the students constantly asking what they had planned, especially after turning down the invitation for the Vale festival. Dante had negotiated with them and set it on everyone going together on the second or last day of the festival, after each set of Slayers returned from their respective 'missions'.

The girls didn't look too convinced until Weiss turned and noticed Ozpin for the first time.

"Oh, hello professor Ozpin," Weiss greeted politely. The other three followed suite before returning their attention to Athena.

"So why are you waiting out here anyway?" asked Yang.

"Oh, just waiting for Dante," she responded.

Yang smirked at that, Ruby and Weiss giggling as well while Blake just raised an eyebrow at her. It took her a few seconds to register what she just said and what it sounded like.

She waved a hand in front of her as she tried to explain. "That's not what I meant. It's not like we are going on a date or anything," she said, even as a blush started to form on her cheeks.

"Are you sure?" persisted Yang in a teasing tone.

"Sure about what?" said a new person.

Athena and team RWBY nearly jumped at the sudden appearance of the man. Athena looked at him closely before she placed the voice.

"D-Dante?" she asked in disbelief.

The man grinned, a toothy smile she could never mistake. It was Dante but at the same time it wasn't. He was dressed in a full butler suite. A black coat and pants, the coat open at his chest revealing a black vest, pristine white collared shirt and a jet black tie. The coat had silver buttons at the front and along the sleeve and cuffs. He also had a small silver chain connected to one of the buttons, the other end flowing into a pocket at the front. He was also wearing black gloves and black shoes but what caught Athena's attention the most was his hair.

Rather than the usual silver hair that was his trademark, he now had black hair combed to his right side, mostly obscuring his right eye from view. This gave him an intimidating look, shrouded in mystery.

"Wow . . ." some of the girls mumbled in unison, shocked by Dante's change in appearance.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said with a smirk as he looked at Athena. "You look stunning by the way."

"T-Thank you" she replied as her blush deepened.

"Why the black hair?" asked Ruby as she stared.

"Just felt like it would complete the look," he replied.

"Interesting choice," Ozpin commented as he took another sip of his coffee with a very amused look in his eyes.

"So where are you girls headed?" asked Dante as he turned back to them.

"We are going to the opening for the fall festival," answered Weiss.

"Wish you guys could come along," Ruby added with a pout.

Dante stepped closer and patted her head affectionately as he said, "We'll make it later on, don't worry."

It made Ruby smile faintly but she still looked slightly saddened.

"Now get going or you'll miss the airship," he instructed gently.

The girls waved goodbye as they, Blake lingering the longest before Dante nodded reassuringly to her for her to leave. Once they were out of sight Ozpin spoke.

"It seems the students have grown attached to you," he said.

"Can't say the feeling isn't mutual," Dante replied back softly.

Ozpin began to lightly chuckle as he walked away, stopping momentarily to call back "I wish you an uneventful night," and resumed walking.

"Its creepy hearing him use sarcasm," Dante commented.

"Yep," Athena agreed, still staring at Dante's hair.

He noticed her gaze and lightly poked her in the side. "Is it really that interesting?" he asked.

"Stop it . . ." she said as she pushed his hand away, ". . . it's just really different from what I'm used to is all."

"Should I keep it?" he asked.

"No, it looks nice but I like the silver hair more," she responded.

"As you command, my lady," he responded with a bow.

She chuckled at his funny manner of bowing. '_I need to stop laughing every time he does that'_ she thought as she returned her attention to the road. She could make out some headlights approaching meaning that the rest of their team was about to arrive.

The dark limo rolled to a stop in front of them and Dante stepped forward before opening the door and gesturing for Athena to walk in, a hand extended to help her in. She appreciated the offer and took his hand as she stepped into the spacious car, seating herself on the back seat. Dante came in right behind and sat beside her before closing the door.

Athena looked across from her to see Kiara and Lucian seated as well. Kiara was in an all-black leather suite, no traceable markings anywhere and her hair was tied into a ponytail, a small knife strapped to her shin. Lucian sat beside her, dressed almost identical to Dante, even to the change in hair color, though instead of a regular tie, it is a bowtie and he was wearing his black rimmed glasses. She also noticed that his ears were tucked down while his hair was brushed back, obscuring his ears from notice unless she carefully looked for them.

Lucian smirked at them before he tiled his head back and knocked on the window separating the cab from the driver. The window slide to the side and Crato appeared, dressed like an official chauffeur with a wicked grin.

"Ready to party?" he asked excitedly.

"Always am," Dante replied.

"Then let's go," Crato continued as he turned and closed the window.

As the car started moving Lucian looked over the group before focusing on Athena.

"Ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," she responded. "Are you?"

"Yes, ma'am," he responded with a grin.

"Then let's enjoy the night, Claude," she said, using his alias name making him widen his grin.

She then turned to Dante, his appearance cool and collect like the butler he was supposed to emulate. He noticed her look and glanced at her.

"I'm at your beck and call, my lady . . . Elizabeth," he said smoothly.

"I expect nothing less from you . . . Sebastian."

* * *

**Author's Rant: Next chapter, the mission finally!**

**Hope everyone is getting excited! Favorite~Follow~Review~Comment (even what you don't like)**

**Till next time! (hopefully soon)**


	29. Crescent Fall Dance: Those Who Fall pt 1

**Author's Note: Time for the action! Took me long enough! (apologies for the weight)**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"We'll be there in 5 minutes."

"Finally! I was getting bored of playing rock-paper-scissors."

"Kiara, only you could insistently play that game for nearly 3 hours," Dante deadpanned.

"Well what else could I do? Play tic-tac-toe?" she retorted.

"It would have been quieter," Lucian commented.

Kiara huffed in frustration, already at wit's end from the long trip. Throughout the majority of the trip, the others remained silent or briefly going over the strategy to be used in the dance. Kiara naturally paid attention to it even though it didn't necessarily affect her part in the operation. It is simple really. Go with Crato into the underground garage, clear out any guards or resistance and set up the escape boats.

The others had a far more intricate plan. Athena would directly control the other Slayer's movements on the dance floor until she could isolate the councilmen, preferably in his private room, and start interrogating him. It would be tricky since none of them had any communicators so Athena would have to rely on Dante and Lucian's hearing to instruct them and relay messages to Thantos and Havasu, wherever they are.

She silently waited until the limo pulled up to the front of the mansion. It was an impressive building, standing four stories tall and made of dark stone walls. The main door stood at least 15 feet high with an overhead arch. The windows running the length of the building were each made of stained glass with intricate decorations and designs. The courtyard before it was massive, decorated with stone statues shaped like Grimm and warriors, lit by the light of the shattered moon giving the courtyard an eerie glow. '_This place is like a castle' _Kiara thought as she took in the sight. Even from inside the car, she could hear the crashing of waves nearly 50 meters below them. She could also see guards in black suites, some armed with large assault rifles, patrolling the length of the courtyard and standing on either side of the doors.

Why anyone would build such a large structure on the edge of a cliff was beyond her but she could not help admire the architecture before her. The car pulled to a stop before the main door and Dante exited the car while Kiara pulled herself closer to the front and out of sight. She saw Dante gesture for Athena to exit, followed by Lucian before the door was gently closed and the car started moving again.

As they walked up to the door, one of the guards stopped Athena and asked her something before she pulled out her invitation from her small purse and showed it to him. He seemed satisfied with it and stepped aside while 2 other guards pushed the doors open. Athena, Dante, and Lucian walked in, the light and muffled sound of activity coming from within before the door closed behind them.

Kiara turned around as the window leading to the driver's seat opened. Crato glanced at her before following the path around the left side of the manor, leading to the subterranean garage. It was a more modern gate, seemingly out of place with the entire structure, as the gate slide open and a lit tunnel was revealed. Crato slowly drove in, scanning for any guards that may be in the tunnel. Kiara herself counted 4 watching the main entrance but they wouldn't matter. They kept heading down, deeper into the structure, until the ground leveled out into a large expanse of parked cars. Kiara saw everything from limos and armored vehicles to expensive sports cars and even a few she couldn't recognize.

Crato parked the limo at the far end, a fair distance from a service door leading to the main structure and also the emergency exit. Once the car was stopped, Crato opened up the glove box and pulled out gloves and an assortment of knives. He handed her a pair along with a some knives before putting on his gloves. She did the same and then looked at him, waiting to begin.

"Ready?" he asked with a glance.

"Always," she replied easily.

He nodded and opened his door, stepping out of the car. Kiara took a moment to take a calm breath before she stepped out of the car as well. '_Let's do this . . .'_

* * *

'_Ok . . . time to get this started. Just follow the plan and everything will be fine'_ Athena thought as she walked up the steps to the main doors. Dante and Lucian were at her sides, playing the roles of family butlers and escorts. They stopped in front of doors as one guard stepped up.

"May I see your invitation please?" he asked.

Athena fished out the invite without saying a word, keeping a cool demeanor. She handed it to him and waited as he looked it over before addressing her again.

"Ms. Einzburn, welcome," he said as he stepped aside while another pair of guards opened the door.

As the trio walked in, some of the guards eyed Dante and Lucian though they didn't return any of the looks. Once inside, the doors closed behind them and 3 new guards along with some attendants came up to them. The apparent head, a woman with dark brown hair, came closets.

"I need your escorts to be thoroughly searched before you are allowed in any further," she said sternly.

Athena glanced at her teammates before nodding. At her cue, Dante and Lucian each stepped forward and spread open their arms, waiting to be searched. The two other guards searched them briskly, looking for any signs of hidden weapons or tools but found nothing, as expected. '_One of the advantages of being faunus . . . they can't really stop them from bringing their claws' _she mused as the guards gave the all clear.

"Have an enjoyable evening," the head guard said as they moved away finally allowing them to pass.

"Thank you," Athena said politely as she walked by them with Dante and Lucian on her heel.

Now that they were past the primary defenses, Athena could get a good look at her surroundings. They were in a large reception hall with the roof far overhead, painted in mixes of navy blue and gold with a massive chandelier. Before her was also a set of staircases that started at either side of the hall and came together in the middle to form a balcony and entrance to the next floor. Under the balcony was a large doorway which seemed to lead to another larger room and the courtyard being used for the activity, the floor entirely made out of marble tiles. At each of her sides there were other doorways leading to each wing of the mansion.

Athena tried to not show how impressed she was by the beauty of the building as she resumed walking down the hall, heading straight for the dance. After all, the sooner they could find their target, the sooner they could finish and leave. As they walked, she could hear the clicking of her heels along the floor, echoing through the nearly empty hall.

Taking advantage of the quiet she glanced at her butlers before speaking softly.

"Claude, find out where our friends are and get back to me. Sebastian, stay close and keep an eye out for our 'business partner'."

"Yes my lady," they said in unison.

They arrived to the next room and quickly took in their surroundings. It was a large room, most likely a gathering room meant to host smaller gatherings. Its color was similar to the reception hall, though instead of gold, it was bronze mixed with the navy blue. The marble floor also had a design painted on it, looking like a shattered moon using shades of grey, red, and yellow to mark the boundaries and details. Athena didn't really like the color choice, it looked too much like something had been broken and left for dead, the red looking far more like blood leaking out of a wound.

She looked away from the design and looked around the room. Several servants milled around with trays of food and drinks. There were large banquet tables set along the walls along with a champagne tower. The back wall was made of large glass door, allowing for a full view of the courtyard outside where the majority of the guests mingled, the light sound of chatter indistinctly reaching her ears. As she walked across the floor and made her way to the courtyard, Lucian picked up his pace and split off into the crowd, in search of Havasu and Thantos as she had instructed.

She and Dante stepped out into the courtyard and again took in the view. It was a large stone courtyard lit by small lanterns placed around the perimeter along with some soft lamps placed overhead with decorative ropes. At the far left of the courtyard was also a small orchestra playing a mellow tune, some guests slow dancing to it while most enjoyed idle chatter and drinks.

"Anything Sebastian?" she whispered softly.

"Not yet," he replied.

She sighed softly and resumed looking over the guests, hoping to spot the councilmen. After a few minutes Lucian reappeared, seamlessly moving through the crowd, a champagne glass in hand.

"Our friends are accounted for, my lady," he said as he handed her the drink.

As she took it she looked for the drink bar and noticed her other teammates. Thantos was working as a bartender, continuously going back and forth serving variety of drinks while Havasu was working as an attendant carrying a tray of drinks around the floor. They both momentarily paused and looked her way before winking and getting back to work.

"Not bad," she muttered with a smirk before she took a sip of her drink.

"Any more orders?" Lucian asked.

"Stay close to our friends, monitor the floor and let me know if there are any disturbances or anything noteworthy," she said smoothly.

Lucian gave a curt bow and disappeared into the crowd without a trace. '_He is almost too good at that' _Athena thought as she started to stroll through the crowd. As she walked she noted who was attending the event. She recognized some celebrities such as dancers and singers, a few men in military suites, and other members of distinguished families but she couldn't seem to find the members of the Atlas council.

She kept making rounds for about one hour, though it felt like much longer, yet she was starting to get antsy. She huffed in frustration and glanced at Dante to see if he was having any better luck. He was intently scanning over the crowd, occasionally stopping when he made eye contact with Lucian or Havasu since they were searching as well. He then looked at her and smiled faintly as he leaned in.

"Want something stronger than that champagne?" he asked softly, "You seem tense."

She thought about it for a moment before she nodded. Dante straightened up before giving her his signature bow and turning around, heading straight for the bar. As she watched him disappear, she thought about how everyone else was doing. Sure she was more than trained for these sorts of missions but the conditions this time around were less than favorable. It made her uneasy that they couldn't communicate with Crato and Kiara without drawing attention to themselves, meaning that if something went wrong, they would have no way of knowing. Still, she had to be confident in her teammates and focus on the job at hand.

She resumed walking around, knowing that Dante would be able to find her with ease, until someone bumped into her. She spun around to see who it had been but only caught sight of an attendant already merging back into the crowd, a lock of black hair with brown tips being the only distinguishing feature she noticed before she disappeared. Athena was about to follow her when someone else stepped in front of her. It was a young man, probably around her age with light green eyes and sandy blonde hair, dressed in a tuxedo.

The man grinned at her before he stepped closer to speak.

"Hey there sweetheart. Can I offer you a dance?" he asked in a sleazy manner, clearly already near his alcohol limit.

"And who are you sir?" she asked with forced politeness. Normally she would flatten a guy like this but right now she is Elizabeth Einzburn, niece to the head of Einzburn Industries, meaning she couldn't act out publicly.

"You are in luck, my name is Aloies T. Archedeaus, heir to Arachne Enterprises," he replied with a sloppy bow.

Athena tried not to grimace as the smell of whiskey wafted off him. ". . . Pleasure . . . I am Elizabeth Einzburn."

"Hoho, a member of E. Industries huh? I must say, your company's weapon research and prosthetic designs are nearly on par with that of the SDC," he replied as he stepped closer making Athena take a step back. She did not want to get any closer to this foul man.

"Thank you for the offer but I do not feel like dancing at this moment," she said as politely as she could but Aloies kept getting closer.

"Oh come now . . . surely a woman of your class would dive at the chance of personally acquainting with an heir such as myself," he continued with a grin.

"No . . . thank you," she said firmly, no longer playing on politeness to get her by. Aloies stopped grinning, obviously upset with her resistance, and stepped even closer with a hand extended to grab her arm.

Athena was contemplating snapping his wrist but before he could get any closer another hand latched on to Aloies' arm. He snapped his head towards whoever dared touch him only to see hazel eyes stare back at him.

"I believe my lady Elizabeth has expressed her desire to not dance. I will have to ask you, sir, to remove yourself this instant or I shall do it personally," said Dante in a chilling tone.

It looked like Aloies was about to say something but whatever it was died in his mouth as Dante gave him a glare that could kill. Athena could see the look of fear in Aloies' eyes as he stumbled back once Dante released him before he turned away into the crowd. Once out of sight Athena looked at Dante, glad that he had appeared before the situation had unfolded any further.

"Are all heirs like that?" he asked in a slightly irritated tone as he looked at her, handing her the drink he had gone to get and taking the champagne.

She gladly took it and gave it a quick taste. A cherry and pineapple mix with something else she couldn't place.

"Hopefully not . . . and this is tasty," she said as she took a larger sip, already feeling her nerves relax.

"They had an excellent choice of rums from Vacuo. Your drink in particular used dragon fruit rum with pineapple juice and a dash of cherry concentrate. Came out a little sweeter than I would have hoped," he replied.

"Well, I think it came out just right," she said.

"I'm glad you like it."

As she continued taking sips of her drink Dante tilted his head to the side for a few seconds with a funny face before he straightened out and looked at her.

"Claude just said he has eyes on our partner," he said.

"Where?" she asked as she started to slowly look around.

"Your eight o'clock, a little ways from the bar," he replied as he turned to that direction.

Athena followed his line of sight until it settled on an older gentleman enjoying a conversation with some associates. He was exactly as the files had described. Short stature, faded black hair tied back into a professional looking tail, perfectly kept goatee, and lively brown eyes surrounded by his tanned skin. He was wearing what looked more like a business suit rather than a tuxedo with a red button shirt and black tie, all finely ironed and clean. There stood their target, Mr. Adrian Glacewall, member of the Atlisian council and vocal advocate of business rights over labor rights.

Reading the man's work and reputation had only made Athena want to personally break most of his bones. He viewed company profits and gains as a larger priority over the rights of workers, regardless of whether they are human or faunus though it was known that he didn't harbor any love for faunus in general. He was also very vocal in regards to what actions should be taken against faunus activism and once even referred to peaceful protests as 'beginnings of White Fang recruitment'.

Just looking at the man was starting to get her irritated so she redirected her attention to the man he was speaking to. He looked about 40 or so, dressed in a pristine white suit with light blue trimmings. The buttons along the side looked like snowflakes rather than regular buttons and his tie was also a light shade of blue. He also had cold blue eyes and white hair, cut short and neat, as if the man was going into a meeting at any moment. It took all of 3 seconds for her to realize who that was and seeing him speaking to Glacewall sent a shiver down her spine.

"Mr. Schnee . . ." she whispered to no one in particular.

She stole a quick glance at Dante to see that he had his gaze focused on Weiss's father as well.

"I wonder why he is here," Dante muttered under his breath.

They continued to watch as the two men conversed for another 30 minutes or so before Mr. Schnee said his goodbyes and walked away to speak to another group leaving Glacewall alone. Dante took a step forward towards Glacewall but Athena stopped him with a tap on the shoulder making him look back at her.

"Not now, even if he isn't speaking to anyone, he is too close to those who know him personally. If we are going to get him alone I need a distraction to get the other guest off us," she said softly as to not have anyone eavesdrop.

"What do you have in mind?" Dante asked as he continued to observe Glacewall.

I'll let the others handle it. I need you to disappear and then follow after me once I get Glacewall alone," she instructed. Dante gave her a questioning look but then made a quick bow and merged into the crowd without a word.

Athena then looked around until she spotted Lucian standing near the opposite end of the bar beside Havasu. Athena nodded at him and then spoke in a low tone, "Claude, I need some entertainment. Bring along your friends."

Even with the constant chattering and light music in the background she knew Lucian could hear her so now all she had to do was draw Gracewall's attention. She slowly started closing the distance between them. Once she was about 20 feet away from him she turned to look for Lucian and Havasu until she spotted them along with Thantos near the orchestra.

Havasu grabbed a guitar and Thantos had a pair of castanets in his hands while Lucian walked up to one of the celebrity guests, a dancer if Athena remembered correctly, and offered her a hand to dance.

While he did that Thantos and Havasu stepped onto a small stage, cutting off the small orchestra and the melody they had been playing. It seemed that the conductor was not happy with their interruption and started arguing with Havasu for a moment before he said something to pacify him. At the sudden silence everyone turned their attention to orchestra, and more importantly the two attendants, some mumbling their from irritation or concern. Ignoring the ramblings, Thantos and Havasu politely bowed before Havasu started to strum the guitar, Thantos following suit with his castanets and stomps of his foot.

***Hisoka theme: extended, first hit on YouTube***

Athena watched and listened in amazement as the duo began to play a perfect Paso doble while Lucian took the floor with his new partner, a beautiful brunette dressed in a flowing red dress and started to dance in sink to the music, with a rose in his mouth. '_Where did he get the rose?!'_ Athena pondered as she watched them dance for a few more moments before she looked at Glacewall.

He was also watching the dance but for a slight moment he glanced at her before he fully diverted his attention to her. Knowing she had an audience she gave him a sultry look while slowly running her hand down her thigh before slowly turning around and walking away with an deliberately showy gate. Athena made her way through the crowd, occasionally looking back to make sure Glacewall was close behind until she made it all the way back to the passage leading into the reception hall before stopping.

She turned around to see Glacewall just a few feet behind her, not so subtly looking her up and down.

"Hello," she said in a cute tone.

"Hello there," he responded in a heavy tone. "Just who are you, little lady?"

"Oh me? Just a girl looking for a good time."

"Is that so? Was the party not to your liking?" he asked as he stepped closer, the smell of alcohol beginning to waft over her.

"I found it rather dull but then those dancers started performing and I got . . . excited," she replied as she stepped closer.

"Excited you say? What sort of excitement?" he asked.

"Oh, a proper lady can't say out in public," she said coyly.

"Then what if we went somewhere where you could tell me what you planned to do with this excitement?" he asked as he closed the distance between them.

"I don't know . . ." she said as she draped one arm around his neck and leaned close to his ear before speaking in a sensual voice "You look like you know how to give a girl a good time so I might have to accept the offer."

He chuckled at that and grabbed her hand before leading her along the hall towards the steps. As they walked Athena noted that two guards were trying to discreetly follow along. They walked up the stairs and entered the right hallway, down a softly lit passage until they arrived at a door nearly at the end. There stood two more guards on either side of the door armed with suppressed assault rifles. '_Is someone expecting company?' _she mused as Glacewall nodded to the guards and walked into the room and closed the door once she was inside.

Though it wasn't lit she could tell the room was rather spacious, probably as large as their common room back at Beacon with a bed situated in the corned along with a desk placed near the window overlooking the cliff and sea below, only the light of the moon illuminating the room. She returned her attention to Glacewall but he seemed to be looking for something in a drawer near the bed. After a minute or so he found what he was looking for and turned around to show her two pairs of handcuffs.

"What are those for?" she asked innocently, trying her hardest not to gag at the face Glacewall was making while he looked at her.

"It's for showing you a good time," he said with a dangerous tone.

As he walked closer she backed up to the desk and glance at the chair behind it and got an idea.

"Wait. . ." she said as she walked around the desk and brought the chair to the front of the window. "I want the light."

Glacewall grinned at that and started walking faster until he was in front of her and reached for one of her hands. In that split second Athena grabbed him by the throat and threw him onto the chair before using the cuffs to secure him to the armrests of the chair. Glacewall tried to scream for help but Athena quickly ripped off his tie and used it to gag him, only allowing a muffled shout to escape.

With Glacewall secured she stepped and was about to speak when she heard some knocking on the door.

"Mr. Glacewall! We heard a shout are you alright?" one of the guards asked while the door handle shook.

Athena dashed to the wall beside the door and waited as the two guards opened up and stormed in past her without noticing. '_That's why you never walk into a room without checking your sides, amateurs' _she thought as she closed the door shut and stepped up behind the closest guard before he could notice. She kicked out at the back of his knee making him fall to her waist height and with a smooth motion she grabbed the side of his head and snapped it 180 degrees around.

As the corpse fell over she dashed to the other guard, who just realized she was behind him, and drove her fist straight into his throat, crushing his Adam's apple. The guard clutched at his throat as he tried to breathe in vain but to no avail as he slumped back with his legs kicking until he finally stopped, his eyes frozen in a look of fear and desperation.

With both guards dispatched Athena returned her attention to the now trembling Glacewall. She slowly approached until she was merely a foot away and grabbed his shoulder.

"Mr. Glacewall, I am going to ask you some questions and you are going to answer them or else," she said firmly before she removed the gag.

Glacewall's expression turned to anger as he snarled at her, "You little cunt! You think some lowly assassin can so much as look at me? I have more then those two halfwits for guards constantly patrolling the building. Once they notice the two missing at the door, this room will be stormed and you'll be shot on sight!"

Athena smirked at that as she smacked him with the back of her left hand, some blood splattering out of his bottom lip.

"I'm so sorry about having to slap you, it's just that I'm scared I'll break you if I actually hit you and then you wouldn't be able to answer me," she said in a mocking tone.

She looked at some of the blood on her gloved hand with distaste. "I'm going to take a bath after this," she muttered to herself.

"B-Bitch," he whispered venomously as he glared at her but she just pouted back at him which seemed to only anger him more.

"So, I take it you won't answer my questions?" she asked innocently to which Glacewall remained silent.

"Fine," she sighed out as she repositioned his gag, much to his alarm.

She picked up her purse which she had dropped earlier and fished out a small perfume bottle, or at least that was what it looked like. She unscrewed the cap and pulled out a tiny brush connected to the cap while putting down the little bottle on the desk beside her. She then focused her aura into her hand until she generated a small crystal needle. Once complete, she gently brushed the end of it with the solution from the bottle before recapping the bottle and storing it away.

She then walked back to Glacewall and pricked his hand with the needle. He looked at his hand before looking at her, confused as to what she had done.

"Give it a moment," she said coldly.

After five seconds, Glacewall started to thrash around as he tried to scream in pain but the gag did its job. It was a rather ugly sight, seeing this corrupt business man try to free himself from his restraints while his face flushed red and his veins threatened to burst, his eyes as wide as saucers as the pain raced through his body.

'_The house blend, Phlegethon Lily extract . . . enjoy'_ she thought as she watched Glacewall writhe in pain. After a few minutes, he stopped thrashing around so she removed the gag and waited for her hostage to stop panting.

"Feeling chatty now?" she asked.

Glacewall looked at her, the defeat evident in his eyes, as he slowly nodded.

"Good," she chirped as she leaned forward. "Now, what is going on in the Razorback region?"

Glacewall's eyes widened at the question as he started to stammer, "H-How do y-you know about that?"

"Answer the question."

"N-Not much . . . I was simply asked to steer the military away from the area."

Athena leaned closer as she glared at him, "What do you know?"

"N-Nothing . . . I swear!" he said desperately as sweat saturated his brow.

Athena was about to prick him again with the needle when she heard the sound of multiple footsteps quickly approaching. She glanced at Glacewall to see that he was smirking.

"Time's up," he said smugly as he looked expectantly at the door. The doorknob trembled for a moment but then went still. Athena could hear several bumps and crunching noises coming from the outside with even one plea for mercy before everything went deathly quiet. Then the doorknob turned and opened, a figure clad in black walking in. Athena smirked as she faced Glacewall again, his own expression crestfallen as the figure settled beside Athena.

"Mr. Glacewall, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Sebastian," she said with a gesture to Dante.

"Now, if you don't start answering my questions then my friend will have to persuade you," she continued and to emphasize her point Dante gave Glacewall a toothy grin, his pointed fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

If Glacewall had been scared before he was surely terrified now as he started to incoherently babble about how he was just the public face and not responsible for anything. Athena sighed in irritation, wondering whether she should give him another dosage of the lily extract or have Dante do something. Knowing Dante, it would probably get bloody and messy but Glacewall was proving to be either stubborn or extremely stupid so it might be more effective. '_I'll give him another chance and if he still resists, then Dante can have him.'_

She snapped her fingers to get his attention and then glared at him. "Start talking now," she commanded.

"I don't know anything I swear! I was just paid off to keep attention off the area. I d—,"

Whatever he was going to say was cut short by another smack by Athena, this time busting his eyebrow, the blood quickly dripping into his right eye. He remained silent, barely meeting her eyes as she tapped her foot impatiently, already tired of his excuses.

"Sebastian, he's yours," she said coldly as she turned away from Glacewall. As Dante took a step forward Glacewall started begging insistently.

"No! Please, don't give me to that monster! I told you I don't know anything about the children, I swear!" he shouted.

Athena spun on her heel at hearing what he said, her mind reeling to understand what he meant. '_Children!? What children?'_ she pondered as she gave a worried look to Dante. He seemed just as confused as she was, looking at the now silent Glacewall. The only information the Slayers had been told to search for was simply whether there really was some activity in the Razorback region and what Glacewall knew about it. There was no mention of children in the reports and Nyx had even specified that they couldn't look into more than what files they were supplied with.

Dante glanced at her for a moment before he stepped up to Glacewall and grabbed him by the throat before lifting him overhead, chair and all.

"What children?" Dante said with a menacing growl.

Glacewall just stared back at him in terror, straining to breathe. Sebastian put him back down without removing his hand.

"Talk," he commanded as he loosened his grip.

"I . . . I don't know . . . much about it . . . just that they needed . . . children . . ." Glacewall answered through pants.

"Who is 'they'?" asked Athena as she leaned in while Dante stepped out of her way, his back to the window.

Glacewall's eyes grew panicky again as they darted from Athena to the door and back.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no! They'll kill me! I need to escape now!" he cried as he thrashed in his restraints.

Athena was about to smack him again but then she heard the doorknob twisting behind her. Her eyes darted to Dante for a moment as his focused on the door. As he took a step forward she saw a dark figure suddenly appear from outside the window, draped in a dark cloak.

"Sebastian!" she shouted but it was too late. Before Dante registered what was happening, something crashed through the window piercing Dante straight through his back and gut. She couldn't tell what it was, only that it looked organic and had a clawed point, as it pulled Dante back through the window in an instant and into the darkness of the night.

She didn't even have a chance to run to the window as the door behind her crashed into the room, nearly flattening her had she not rolled to the side in the nick of time. She wheeled around to see another figure walk in. In a split second the figure threw something at Glacewall as he wailed but the sound immediately stopped as a jagged dagger lodged itself into his throat. His eyes bugged out as blood sprayed from the wound until they rolled back and he lay still.

Athena returned her immediate attention to the figure, the dim light of the moon illuminating part of his face . . . no, not his, hers! It was a woman's face and she was grinning cruelly. Athena could tell she was a faunus, the sign being some brown scales rimming the edges of her cheeks and eyes as well as her eyes alone. They didn't have irises, instead being only two black pupils, devoid of any emotion or care.

The woman started to laugh, a cold and desolate sound that sent shivers down Athena's spine as she stalked forward. Athena kicked off her heels before she got into a fight stance, prepared to fight for her life. She was extremely worried about Dante but she knew he could handle himself so she focused on the task at hand.

"What a cute little human. . ." the woman chuckled. ". . . Do you honestly think you are a match for me? I commend you for your bravado but it won't do you any good."

Athena stayed silent, uninterested in any idle chatter. The woman chuckled some more before she suddenly surged forward and clawed at Athena's head, missing by an inch had Athena been any slower. As she dodged the strike, Athena spun on her back heel and raised her other foot to back-kick her opponent. The woman stepped back out of reach and crouched down, looking for any openings. Athena returned to her stance, carefully watching the woman's movements. '_She's fast and has the advantage with the low light. I need to finish this quickly'_ Athena thought as she slowly walked around the woman.

The woman eyed her for a moment before she attacked again, this time with a sweeping kick. Athena reacted with a hop but while in the air she realized her mistake. The woman closed the distance in a heartbeat and grabbed Athena by the throat before slamming her down on the desk, smashing it to smithereens. Even while dazed, Athena struck at the woman with a knee straight to the ribs, managing to knock the wind out of her with an angry hiss though she maintained her grip making it harder for Athena to breathe.

Already feeling her lungs start to burn, she tried to punch the women but she simply caught her fist with her free hand. The woman grinned as she pulled Athena's right arm in front of her face before snickering, "Now you die."

She then opened her mouth, full of small needle like teeth until two large fangs sprang forward. The woman then bit down on Athena's wrist making her scream, a searing pain instantly shooting through her arm. Athena struggled to pull her arm back but the lack of air was draining her strength. '_This is bad! I have to do something now or I'm finished!'_

She tried to ignore her lungs and arm, focusing on her aura and envisioning what she wanted to form. Aura began to radiate from her knee and neck for a few seconds until the woman let go of her neck and wrist with an angry shriek, blood dripping from her fangs.

There was a deep set of cuts along the woman's palm, left by the small crystal spikes formed around her neck, already beginning to bleed profusely. Before the woman could react, Athena drove her knee into the woman's side, a jagged crystal formed on her knee stabbing into the woman's ribcage and hopefully, her lung. The woman shrieked again, a mix of pain and anger evident in her voice as she recoiled back allowing for Athena to roll away. She tried to stand but she was short on breath and could feel her arm starting to numb, blood dripping out of the vicious bite on her wrist.

She glanced at the woman but she was already retreating, holding her side as she dashed out into the hallway, leaving a trail of blood. Athena grit her teeth, frustrated that she didn't take her down but instead turned her attention to her arm. She pulled off one of her gloves and tied it around her right bicep, cutting off the blood flow and whatever else was in her veins. She then channeled her aura into her left hand until she managed to form a small dagger.

She then looked at her forearm for a moment before she used the dagger to cut it open along the vein. Blood started to pour out but it wasn't healthy blood. No, this was a sickly black fluid, defiled and corrupted by that woman's venom. As she watched the blood flow, waiting for it to come out red, she heard footsteps running towards the door. She looked at the door, already focusing on forming another blade when Lucian appeared, concern evident in his face.

Before he could say anything Athena spoke, "Go chase after the faunus. She might know something."

Lucian seemed to hesitate for a moment, his eyes looking at her mangled arm until she shouted, "Go!" and he nodded before bolting away.

As the sound of his footsteps faded she heard two other sets fast approaching her. In a few seconds, Thantos and Havasu stormed in, each armed with small knives Brick supplied for them. They scanned the room before they focused on her, Havasu dashing forward to inspect her arm while Thantos ran over to Glacewall.

"What happened?" Havasu asked calmly as he inspected her arm and ripped off a piece of his sleeve before beginning to wrap up her multiple cuts.

"Two unidentified people jumped us when we were interrogating Glacewall. Sebastian was pulled out the window while the other one killed Glacewall and then engaged me," she explained in a strained voice, her head feeling light from blood loss.

"Shit! I can't hardly see anything," Thantos said as he looked out the window to the cliffs below.

"We need to get to him," Athena said through grit teeth as the adrenaline wore off and the pain returned with a vengeance.

"We will. . ." Havasu said firmly as he looked at Thantos, ". . . message our chauffeur, let him know that we need to meet up at the bottom of the cliffs."

Thantos nodded as he pulled out his scroll and began to type away. While he did that Havasu looked back at Athena. "And Claude?"

"I sent him after the woman who attacked me. She was injured so he should be able to track her," she replied. Havasu nodded before he draped her injured arm over his shoulder and helped her stand straight.

"Then let's go," he said as they walked to the window.

"But you'll need both hands to get down those cliffs," she said.

"No I won't," he replied as he began to radiate an orange aura around his body. It began to form a translucent layer around his body, almost like an armor or second skin. He looked at her, his eyes no longer maple colored but bright orange and his pupils turned to slits.

"I can get us down without a problem," he said as the aura around his free hand began to form claws.

"I'll be right behind you," said Thantos as he fished something out of his pocket and placed it on Glacewall's lap.

Without a second word, Havasu jumped through the window with her holding on to him and latched his clawed-hand onto the wall, holding them in place.

He then released his grip and allowed them to drop about 30 feet before grabbing on again. As they steadily descended with Thantos following close behind, Athena's couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was following her. '_Please be ok Dante . . .'_

* * *

**Author's Rant: Two parts, I know but hey . . . the next part should be out soon (hopefully)**

**Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Beware, the next part is bloody**

**ps. I hope everyone liked the bit with the music so you could listen along while you read.**

**Comment~Review~Follow~Favorite!**


	30. Crescent Fall Dance: Those Who Fall pt 2

**Author's Note: The Second part to the misson (finally!). Enjoy and please comment or review!)**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**PS: You guys know it is rated M, don't come at me with 'it's too bloody' or 'why would you do that!'**

* * *

'_I'll catch her . . . and make her pay . . . for hurting my team and for before!'_

He was running at a breakneck pace, easily maneuvering through the thick brush as he followed the scent of blood. He didn't know how injured his target was but it didn't matter. He would continue chasing until he caught her and it wouldn't make a difference if she had 2 or 10 allies helping her. He would just tear them apart.

The moment he had cleared the courtyard in front of the mansion, slipping past the guards before they even realized he had been there, he had let the wolf within take over. His eyes shifted, allowing him to see his targets blood like a bright red marker, his claws and teeth shifted as well, his predatory drive willing him on. He ran into a clearing and pulled to a stop, his feet gouging out the soil beneath him.

At the other end of the clearing was his target. That wretched snake along with about six escorts, all dressed in similar robes and black masks with red markings. They looked similar to the masks of the White Fang but Lucian knew that they were different. All Fang members he ever came across donned white Grimm masks and most cower in fear at his very presence. These ones were clearly seasoned fighters, higher breed faunus trained to fight to the death and disciplined unlike the rabble of the White Fang.

He looked them over, judging who was the weak link and who would put up more of a fight. His eyes settled on the snake and this time he could see that she was frightened. He could hear her labored breathing, smell her foul blood as it leaked from her side. '_She's too weak to run anymore' _he thought as he took a step forward. With his movement one of the escorts, some sort of dog judging by the scent and ears poking out of the hood, walked closer while snarling at Lucian.

Lucian snorted, amused by the stupidity of the dog's actions. He looked into the eye slits of the dog's mask before he let out his own snarl, unleashing his killing intent with it. He dog instantly took a step back, his companions all shuffling nervously. They may have been confident in their numbers and experienced but that would do little to help them against an Alpha of Lucian's caliber.

"Don't back down you fools! You have the numbers so attack him all at once!" the snake commanded with false bravado. Lucian could hear the concealed panic in her voice and he relished in it.

"Your guards lack nerve, snake," he said in a cold tone, diverting her attention back to him. "This time there isn't anyone around to watch so I don't have to be as . . . civil this time around."

He took another step, his fangs bared as he leaned forward with the thirst for blood driving him.

"Come on and get what you had coming . . ." he mocked.

The fauna exchanged glances before the dog and another, a large bull, charged towards Lucian. Lucian waited as they neared him, already planning on how to kill them the quickest. The dog reached him first and tried to tackle him but he stepped around him, grabbing the dog's head as he did so and with one swift motion, he snapped the dog's neck. He let go as the body carried forward by its momentum before dropping down onto the stomach, the head facing the sky. Lucian then turned his attention to the bull still charging at him, intending to gore him with its set of curved horns.

Lucian caught the bull's horns, stopping it dead. Before the bull could even try to thrash and struggle, Lucian pulled the horns apart. The bull began to wail in pain as its horns were ripped off, bits of the skull coming along with them before Lucian swung them back together, crushing the bull's skull. The headless corpse dropped to Lucian's feet, blood and gore staining his clothes but he didn't care as he kept stalking forward.

The four remaining escorts started to backpedal, terrified by the ends of their companions but a hiss from the snake stopped them in their tracks. It seemed that they feared her more than dying as three of them charge forward. It was another dog, a female hare judging by the scent, and some form of bird this time. The hare and dog attacked in unison, the hare kicking at his ribs while the dog tried to claw his face. Lucian caught the leg of the hair and closed his grip, crushing the shin of the hare as she screamed, before he swung her around as a bat into the dog's side.

They tumbled along the ground as the bird jumped at him with a kick aimed for his head. Lucian jumped out of the way and was about to counter when the dog reappeared, latching onto his arms from behind. The bird capitalized on his momentary restraint and came in with a clawed hand aimed for his eyes. Lucian responded by surging forward, pulling the dog along with him, and closed the distance to the bird. Before it could notice Lucian opened up his jaw and clamped down on the bird's thin neck. It tried to squirm away as his fangs pierced threw the bone and flesh before he applied full pressure, crushing the frail bones and severing the spinal column.

He spit the now still corpse out as the dog in turn bit down on his shoulder making him growl in irritation. He grabbed the dog's head and threw him over his shoulder and on to his back, some of his coat tearing off around the bite. He glanced at the shallow bite marks on his shoulder as they lightly bled, his irritation turning to anger as he returned his focus to the dog laying on the ground, too dazed to stand up. Lucian stood directly over him and leaned down with an outreached hand.

"No plea—" the dog tried to beg but was cut short as Lucian drove his clawed hand into his throat and ripped out his lower jaw and windpipe in one motion, silencing the mutt for good.

As the corpse stopped twitching Lucian stalked over to the hare as she tried to limp away, her shattered shin and injured back hampering her motion. She glanced back at him and upon realizing he was coming closer tried to jump away on her good leg but Lucian wasn't letting anyone get away. He sprinted forward and caught her in a second, grabbing her by the back of the head and lifting her clean off the ground.

"Please! I surrender, whatever it is you want I'll tell you just let me live!" she begged as she desperately clawed at his hands but he held fast.

He didn't want to hear any more begging so he stabbed his free hand through her torso, directly piercing her heart and ending her suffering. He tossed the body aside and looked back at the snake and her last escort. It looked like some form of feline and as Lucian had guessed, was the weakest of the group. He walked towards them, his fangs bared and bloody grey claws extended, while the feline slowly crouched lower and lower in a state of panic. The snake hissed at him but the feline kept lowering until its forehead was touching the ground.

Lucian recognized the display. It was a show of absolute surrender as the faunus allowed the superior to have complete control over them. It was a last ditch effort to survive the night at the price of calling Lucian the Alpha for the rest of its life. He kept walking until he stood directly in front of the surrendering feline and raised one foot up. The feline glanced up only to see his foot coming down, smashing his skull like a bug as blood and brain matter burst out. He removed his foot and resumed walking until he was a meter away from the snake, her gaze defiantly meeting his.

"So . . . any more friends I need to handle?" he asked in an emotionless voice.

The snake didn't say anything, her hateful gaze being her only expression. He took that as a no and surged forward, grabbing her throat and lifting her so they were eye level. She tried to claw at his face but he caught her wrist with his free hand, clenching his fist until the bones within were nothing but powder. The snake let out a blood curdling scream as her bones were grounded into dust, madly flailing her legs even as more blood leaked out of her open wound.

He waited until she stopped screaming before he resumed speaking in a cold voice.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you . . . yet. You'll tell us everything you know and then I'll decide how to finish you," he said.

The snake glared at him, even as tears leaked out but still remained silent. Lucian glared back for a few seconds before he dropped her wrist and smacked her on the side of the head, using just enough force to knock her out. He then sighed as he put her down before he started to dress her cut. '_No use if she bleeds out or something' _he thought as he finished sealing the cut before tying up her arms behind her back with some cloth. He then hoisted her onto his shoulder like a sack of flour and turned back to the direction of the mansion.

'_Better go to the rendezvous near the cliffs . . . I hope everyone is ok' _he thought as he started walking through the thick brush.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"I'm sure. Just a little ways down and we should enter the hidden dockyard under the cliffs."

"You said that last time we went down a random hallway."

"Hey, the specks only showed an overhead view of the passages! It's just farther down than we originally anticipated."

"Can't I just break the floor under us to make it faster?"

"Not unless you want to risk bringing the entire tunnel down with us."

"Ach! Fine . . ."

Crato was starting to get a serious headache. After he and Kiara had started their part of the plan, shit had hit the fan almost immediately. For starters, there were far more guards than originally anticipated and one random guy had been strolling by the cars, admiring some of the exotic rides when he chanced upon Kiara. She had reacted quickly enough and broken his neck before he could utter a sound and rolled him under a car but the problem was that he had friends.

With their friend suddenly not responding, some of the guards had started to patrol the garage looking for him. This had made it trickier for Kiara to move around, at least until Crato found a fuse box and short circuited the system using his aura, temporarily blowing out the lights. From there, Kiara had lead him out of the main garage and into one of the service tunnels leading up to the mansion and down to the dock.

As they booked it down the halls taking every set of stairs they found, it seemed that they kept running into more and more guards, some armed with small handguns while most had some form of short sword. Crato handled the ones with guns first by using some unmarked throwing knives on them before they could aim at him or Kiara while she simply crushed anyone who got close.

Luckily for them, in the weeks to prepare for the mission, Havasu had worked with Brick on the small device he had salvaged from the night of the attack on Beacon and had designed a smaller replica. Havasu had redesigned it into a small, scroll like device that instead of knocking out scrolls and other small electronic devices like an EMP, it would simply jam communications. This allowed for Kiara and Crato to move around without worrying about a guard spotting them and calling for any sort of alarm, at least as long as they were within 15 meters of them.

Granted, even with communications down, it would only be a matter of time before some of the upper level guards got suspicious of the silence and came down to investigate so Crato was trying to work as quickly as possible yet they kept running into unexpected obstacles.

There had even been one point where they ran into some iron door blocking their path. Crato didn't remember seeing that in the blueprints and was about to backtrack when Kiara just walked up to it and slugged it. The reinforced metal began to crumple like tin foil as Kiara repeatedly punched it until with one final kick, she knocked it off its hinges.

Crato had been speechless, astounded by the sheer strength Kiara possessed and mentally noting to never get into a brawl with her. Of course the sound of the door being broken down had not helped their case in the slightest as more guards came to them as they investigated the sounds. This pattern had repeated for a few hallways until they descended into what seemed to be the lowest hallway meaning that at the end was the hidden dock.

He could see the end of the hall, some large hanging lights flashing overhead as they neared the opening. Once there, they stopped and Crato peaked out to see what they were up against. It looked like a small dock with a few small boats moored and ready to depart. The roof overhead was still that of a cavern, lights spaced randomly along the ceiling. Crato could see a small watch tower of sorts to his right, overlooking the dock with one armed gunman. To his left, at the bottom of a set of stairs was another guard watching the boats as well. Last Crato spotted 3 men lugging some crates between one of the small boats and a small storehouse nearby at the start of the dock.

"I can take the one on the tower," Kiara whispered to him as she eyed her target.

Crato gave her a nod as he slowly edged forward, getting closer to the guard beneath him. Once near the railings, he hunkered down and looked over at Kiara. She was scaling the cavern wall using her claws to grip the rough surface as she climbed up behind the tower, the guard being completely oblivious to her movements. Once she was slightly above the guard she looked over at him and waited for a moment before she pounced off the wall and onto the guard, her jaws latching onto the back of his neck and crushing it before he could make a sound.

'_Brutal'_ Crato thought as he turned his attention to the guard below him. He pulled out one of the small blades Brick had given him and grabbed onto the railing before he hopped over, landing right behind the guard with a thud. The guard jumped at the sound but before he could turn around Crato came up behind him and covered his mouth while simultaneously slitting his throat. He then held on as the dying guard squirmed for a few seconds before going limp. He dropped the corpse as he resumed moving forward, ducking behind the occasional crate to avoid detection.

He glanced over one of the crates and noticed Kiara, some blood coating her chin, had climbed down the side of the watch tower and was also getting closer to the boat from the opposite side of the deck. She peaked around a crate to look at him for a moment before she stuck out her hand, holding up three fingers. She then mouthed a count down before she punched a nearby crate, sending it crashing into another pile of them with a loud bang. A few of the men working the on the boat started running towards the crash site while one remained on the ship looking over the portside. While he was distracted, Crato snuck towards the boat and easily jumped from the dock onto the deck of the boat before sprinting towards the guard.

The guard turned around in time to see Crato's fist meet his face before he was sent flying, knocked unconscious as he landed in the water some distance away. Crato then turned to see that Kiara had just about finished off the other two guards, one with his brains splattered on the floor while the other was struggling on the floor, trying to breath with a torn open throat, courtesy of Kiara's claws. As Kiara jogged the rest of the way towards the boat Crato got a message on his scroll.

It read, 'Friends attacked, one unaccounted for. Hurry to the cliffs and meet up with us!'

"What is it?" Kiara asked as she landed beside Crato.

"There's trouble. We need to get moving," he answered as he moved to the chains tying the boat to the dock.

He noticed that it was a heavy duty chain held down with a thick lock.

"Fuck . . ." he muttered under his breath as he held the chain up while looking around to see if he could find a key anywhere.

"What are you doing?" Kiara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What does it look like? I need a key or something to cut this chain with," he answered crossly. If he had brought Gungnir with him this would have taken a second but all he had at his disposal were small knives.

"Give me that," Kiara said as she grabbed the chain from him. Before he could say anything, she put the chain in her mouth and with a quick snap of her jaws, crushed the chain and severing it easily. She then dropped both halves and repeated the process with another chain near the back of the boat.

"Well that's one way of doing it," he muttered as the severed end of the chain fell into the water.

"Let's go!" she shouted as she threw off some of the crates left on the deck of the boat.

Crato rushed over to the wheel, jamming his knife into the key socket before running a small current through it while turning it to start the motors. As the motors roared to life, he looked over his shoulder as he backed the small boat up into open water. Once cleared of the dock, Crato turned the boat around and threw the motors into full power, skimming through the waves as they made their way to the cliffs below the mansion. As they neared the location, Kiara stood beside him, observing the coast before she leaned forward as she squinted at something.

"What is it?" he asked since he couldn't see that well in the dark.

"I'm not certain but it looked almost like a bat dropping something into one of the storehouses near that abandoned dock," she answered while pointing in that direction.

'_Odd' _Crato thought as they pulled to a stop near the cliffs, the rock walls towering over them as the surf churned below them. Crato looked up, trying to see if he could spot his teammates until an orange glow caught his attention. As it got closer, he could make two figures getting closer, one shrouded in an orange glow while the other clung on to him. After a while Crato could make out Havasu's general shape and see that he was helping Athena down.

As they got closer Crato started to worry. Athena looked like she was seriously hurt, her right arm being wrapped up in several spots. Havasu let go of the wall when they were about 30 or so feet above them, rocking the boat as they landed.

"Where is Thant—" Crato was interrupted by the very person landing right beside him making him jump.

Thantos didn't say anything as he straightened up, two large and thick knives in his hands with dirt and chipped edges. He must have used them to control his descent down the cliffs behind Havasu and Athena.

"Crato, get the boat moving!" Athena shouted as she walked over to him on shaky legs.

"Where is Dante and Lucian?" he asked as he prepared to accelerate.

"I'm not sure, all I saw was him getting yanked out the window by something. As for Lucian, I sent him after the faunus that attacked me. He will meet up with us later," she answered with a dire tone.

"Wait, was it like a bat?" Kiara suddenly asked.

Athena looked at her in surprise before she replied "Almost . . . it looked more like someone with bat wings but I didn't get a clear view."

"I saw a bat drop something off at the abandoned docks down the coast," Kiara said making Athena's eyes widen before she looked at Crato.

"Head there!" she ordered.

"Got it," he answered as he threw the motors into full throttle.

Once they got some distance from the cliffs Crato heard a small explosion behind them. He looked back at the cliffs and mansion above to see a fire coming out of one of the rooms of the top floor of the mansion, some alarms and sirens going off as well.

"No traces," Thantos muttered beside him, his expression grim as he looked on towards the abandoned docks.

As the boat glided over the waves, the other Slayers got eerily quiet as a tense atmosphere filled the air. Crato glanced at Kiara and Athena to his right, both visibly growing worried as they sped down the coast.

"Don't worry . . ." he said softly making both of them look at him, "… he is a tough bastard. He is going to be ok."

That seemed to help but even Crato couldn't deny that he was starting to worry for his leader as well. Little did he know just how wrong he was.

* * *

"Sebastian!" Athena shouted as she looked behind him.

He made the mistake of keeping his sight on the door behind her, too late noticing the presence behind him as something crashed through the window and pierced his lower back. He didn't even have time to utter a sound as the thing pulled back, tugging him out of the window and into the darkness as pain shot through his abdomen. He tried to ignore it as he gripped what looked like the end of a wing and started crushing the bone.

He heard an angry hiss like sound directly behind him before something or someone clobbered him on the side of the head, effectively stunning him. Then something else was stabbed through his right shoulder, severing the muscle and nerves making the arm useless. He glanced at the silver blade dripping crimson, noting the serrated edge before it was pulled back and out of his view.

Then the wing tip was violently ripped back out and the next thing he knew, he was falling to the sea and cliffs below. As he fell he could hear what sounded like large wingbeats and the crash of waves below him. He didn't know how long he fell but suddenly he was submerged in the cold sea.

He strained to regain his sense of direction as the surf battered him constantly, occasionally ramming him against the rocks lining the shore. He managed to latch onto a rock and get a view of his surroundings. He was about 3 meters from the surface, the surf above him foaming white as it repeatedly crashed and receded. He looked down at his abdomen, the skin slowly sealing as the water boiled around it. Then he noticed that his shoulder was still bleeding profusely and wasn't sealing at all.

He tried focusing his aura into the area but it didn't seem to be having any effect and the blood pouring out looked almost black. He was so preoccupied with his shoulder that he noticed a presence approaching too late.

He looked forward in time to see a jaw clamp down on his left shoulder, serrated teeth tearing through his coat and skin. Dante reacted by wrapping his left arm around the neck of his attacker and squeezing, easily crushing the neck bones like toothpicks. The corpse released the bite and drifted back, letting Dante get a full view of his attacker. It was a faunus, a blue shark judging by the teeth and skin coloration.

Dante looked past the corpse, at the sea behind it and saw 3 more fauna inbound. All had dorsal fins along their backs, some with fin-like extensions running the length of their forearms and elbows, their shark teeth bared as they honed in on the smell of blood. They swam at alarming speeds, the webbing between their fingers and toes allowing them to move at unmatched speeds within the water.

Dante prepared himself, kicking off his shoes so that he could use his toes to grip the stones around him. He knew that if he tried to reach the surface and looked away from his attackers, it would only put him at a larger risk so he settled on fighting them underwater, even if he was at a disadvantage speed wise.

The first of the sharks, a mako, swam up to him with an open jaw. Dante lashed out with his only good arm but the mako easily avoided contact as he ducted to the side and prepared to come back around. He bid his time as the mako judged where to attack until it surged forward, this time going for his injured side. He didn't dodge as the mako bit down on his forearm, slightly smirking to himself as the shark reeled back, most of its teeth shattered and bloodied. '_Dragon scales'_ Dante thought as he capitalized on the mako's surprise and grabbed him by the forehead, applying immense pressure to cave in the skull in an instant.

As the body began to sink Dante turned his attention to the two others who had just arrived and were cautiously observing him. It was a bull shark and a tiger shark, both swimming in unison around him, biding their time. As they circled him, Dante could feel his lungs start to burn. He hadn't gotten a chance to take a breath before being plunged in the sea and the extreme blood loss was also cutting his endurance.

A few more seconds went by before in a burst of speed, both sharks clamped down on him at the same time, the bull biting onto his injured shoulder while the other clamped down on the back of his thigh. Dante could feel their teeth digging into his flesh, the muscles tearing as they thrashed about trying to inflict as much damage as possible.

He ignored the pain as he grabbed onto the tiger shark from its shoulder, digging his own claws through the bone and muscle forcing it to release the bite as it thrashed in pain. While the tiger was preoccupied Dante turned to the bull shark still digging into his right shoulder. With his hand busy Dante decided to return the favor and bite down on the shark's shoulder, his fangs crushing the bone and muscle with ease as the shark released its bite as well.

With both sharks detained and struggling Dante began to flare his aura, the water rapidly beginning to boil as the temperature skyrocketed. If the sharks were in pain before, now it was surely excruciating as they began to boil alive. Dante kept his aura flaring for exactly 15 seconds, until both bodies stopped moving.

Dante released his grip on the tiger shark while tearing off the chunk of flesh he had bitten on to before swallowing it whole. '_Never really did like the taste of sushi' _he thought as he swam up to the surface. He took a gasping breath as he cleared the water, fresh air filling his lungs as he tried to get a read on where he was, his vision slightly blurry as he recovered his breath. Just as he spotted the mansion at the top of the cliffs something grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out of the water, his captor's claws digging into his shoulders. He tried to break free but the blood loss and useless arm had effectively weakened him.

They flew through the air for about 30 seconds, a fair distance away from the mansion before his captor released him, dropping him onto an old and abandoned dock. Dante crashed through the roof of an old storehouse, the rotten wood and aluminum panels raining down on him as he landed on his wobbly legs, still weak from his underwater engagement. He turned around to the sound of wingbeats as whoever it was attacking him descended through the opening he had made.

The figure clad in dark robes and a dark mask landed a few meters away, two large, black bat wings being the only thing distinguishing about it. Dante watched as the figure removed its hood and mask revealing a smiling woman. She had a pale complexion and long black hair reaching the middle of her back. Her hands and feet were almost black with pale, nearly white claws instead of nails just like the claws along the tips of her wings. Her most distinct feature though were her eyes, the whites being pure black instead while her irises looked like a thin red ring surrounding her large pupils. Taking in the sight as a whole, she was beautiful and grotesque, her eyes full of cruelty and anger even while she smiled with two fangs protruding over her lips.

Dante met her stare, his own eyes burning with anger as the woman continued to smile at him, seemingly entertained by the current situation. As the tense silence passed, she smirked before speaking in a cold yet somehow sweet voice.

"I have heard so much about you but I must say, I'm underwhelmed," she said.

Dante answered with a low growl but it only made the woman smirk as she cocked her head to the side.

"That was a very half-assed growl if I do say so myself," she joked as she took a step forward.

"Who and what are you?" he asked as he took a more defensive stance.

"Oh that's right. We haven't formally been introduced," she said with an even larger grin. "My name is Alluria, an Alpha breed if you couldn't tell." She flexed her wings as if to validate her point.

"Never heard of an Alpha breed like you," he said in a low tone.

"Oh you don't know? Why, I'm a vampire bat of course," she answered with a mocking tone.

"Then you are the 'mistress' the snake mentioned."

"Yes I am."

"Then answer this. What is it you want with me?"

Alluria looked at him curiously before she answered. "I don't really see any point in telling you that since you won't be around for much longer."

"You aren't the first to tell me that," he retorted as he readied himself, knowing that in the current situation he was at the disadvantage.

Alluria chuckled for a moment before her smile disappeared, replaced by a cruel sneer before she lounged forward with a claw extended. Dante responded by surging forward to meet her halfway, apparently surprising her momentarily. He grabbed onto her outstretched arm and twisted her around, slamming her into the floor. Without missing a beat, she aimed the tip of her wing at him and thrust it forward, forcing him to release her arm and block the claw tip with his armored scales, sparks flying.

Dante backpedaled to avoid falling back as the vampire regained her footing, her expression turned to irritation from being thrown so easily. She then dashed forward with a rapid succession of slashes, Dante being forced to mostly dodge due to only being able to use one arm. As she forced him back, he unleashed his tail and used it to retain balance. He stepped into one of her slashes and came around with a left roundhouse kick but Alluria ducked under it. What she wasn't expecting was him continuing to spin on his heel as his tail whipped around, slamming into her exposed shoulder with an audible crack as she careened into a nearby wall, crushing part of the wooden surface.

Dante used this chance to recover his breath, the lack of blood and exertion beginning to drastically reduce his endurance. He watched as Alluria stood back up, shaking off some debris as she glared at him while she popped her dislocated shoulder back into place. '_Tch! She's tough if that hit didn't even faze her'_ he thought as he glanced at his torn shoulder, black blood still leaking out.

From the moment she had dropped him onto the docks, he had prioritized and focused his aura around the wound but it still wasn't having any effect. He knew something had to be in the wound to stop his healing but if he focused his aura into his semblance to fight, whatever it was would spread.

He didn't want to admit it but this fight wasn't going to get any better for him. He either needed to catch her off guard and seriously injure her or find a way to escape and recover. As it stood now, he couldn't take on another Alpha and he didn't know if his team needed him. As he began to scan around for a possible way to escape, Alluria growled as she stepped forward.

"I'm tired of this already. I didn't think you were worthy but it doesn't seem to matter anymore," she said indignantly.

In a burst of speed she dashed up to him and grabbed his good arm while her other hand grabbed him by the jaw and forced him to look directly into her eyes. In that split second, her red rings flashed briefly before she released him and jumped back. Dante felt an odd sensation wash over him, his knees suddenly feeling weak as he struggled to remain standing. He looked at Alluria, confused as to what she did before he felt a warm and wet sensation on his hand. He looked down to see that it was covered in fresh blood up to his elbow.

'_What the hell!? When did this happen?' _he thought as he inspected himself, searching for the source of the blood. As he searched, Alluria began to giggle, drawing his attention towards her.

"What's wrong demon?" she asked in a mocking tone. "See something you don't understand?"

Dante didn't understand and her words only served to confuse him more. He was about to ask what she was talking about when he heard some strained breathing behind him. He turned to look and spotted a girl dressed in a Beacon uniform, deer ears topping her head. She had a gaping wound in the middle of her chest as she struggled to stand, blood pouring onto her shirt and skirt. He was about to move closer to help but then the girl reared up her head and looked at him with panicked eyes.

"Stay away, monster!" she shouted, even as her knees buckled and blood dripped out of her mouth. Her eyes then glazed over as she fell onto her side, her breathing becoming shallower until it stopped completely.

His blood ran cold as he stared into the lifeless eyes looking back at him until he heard something hit the ground to his left. He turned and saw a body bleeding out, silver eyes peering back at him.

"R-Ruby?" he mumbled as he looked at the redhead. Her uniform was in tatters, claw and bite marks covering her mangled body.

He noticed other bodies behind her and he started to tremble as he realized who's they were. Yang was leaning against the wall, one of her arms ripped off while her head hung limp, a bloody gash running along the side of her lifeless face. Near her feet was Weiss, most of her hair turned red from blood, as she looked away with the lower half of her body missing at the belly button. Dante tried to look away but his eyes were nailed to the spot, until he heard some movement to his right. There were the bodies of team JNPR, each torn apart in some way. Jaune's shield was impaled into his chest, Pyrrha laid disemboweled, Nora's looked like someone had ripped her heart out of her chest, and Ren had his head angled perpendicular to his body, the bones jutting out where they had been snapped.

He then felt something dripping onto his cheek and looked up, instantly regretting the decision. Hanging by chains were Blake and Velvet, the sight making him want to gag. Velvet's ears had been ripped off along with one of her eyes gouged out, her left leg was missing while numerous cuts of varying depth were left all over her body leaving her to die by bleeding out. Blake also had her ears ripped off and eyes gouged out though it looked like each of her ribs had been pulled until they jutted out, allowing for a full view of her still heart and lungs. He pried his eyes away from the sight, his breathing becoming panicked, instead choosing to look forward but that was the worst to come.

Before him laid the defeated remains of his fellow Slayers. Crato was impaled to the far wall with his own weapon through the chest, sizable tears running along his sides and shoulders. Thantos was split down the center, his blade stabbed into the floor beside him while Havasu looked like someone had folded him in half, part of his spine jutting out of his back. Then there was Lucian, split in two from one shoulder to the opposite hip, his face contorted in anger and betrayal. Beside him was Kiara's spear, impaled to the ground with her head topping it while her headless body laid to the side.

"No … no … no …" he began to mumble as he closed his eyes, hot tears stinging at the back. When he opened them he looked at his right hand to see Draco Ira in his grip, the blade coated in fresh blood.

He stared at it dumbstruck, unsure as to why it was even here instead of back at Beacon. He then felt something tap his foot so he looked down, only to feel his heart stop. At his feet was Athena, in a state he prayed to never see. She laid there, a stab wound through the center of her stomach while her throat had been torn open, leaving her to suffocate. Yet the worst was her eyes. She looked up directly at him, her eyes full of fear and sadness, reflecting the monster that stood over her and the savagery he was capable of. Dante felt tears start to stream down his cheek as his knees buckled, his entire frame trembling as he looked at her.

He reached out with his left hand but then recognized her scent coming from the blood covering it. He then looked at her throat, recognizing the bite as his own, making him reel back in shock and disgust.

He felt a hand lightly rest on his shoulder as a cold voice whispered in his ear. "Like what you see?" said Alluria.

He couldn't respond, his mind going blank as he looked at Athena's face.

"Just look at the way you ripped them apart . . . truly the work of a demon from the pits of hell," she continued with cruel laughter, her hands feeling like dry ice on his shoulder.

"It seems you will always be alone but don't worry . . ." she whispered softly into his ear. "It will all be over soon."

As she finished the sentence, he got a side view as she opened her jaw and clamped down on his neck, her two fangs piercing his carotid artery yet he didn't even flinch, his nerves and body already too numb to feel any pain. He listened to the sickening sound of her drinking his blood as the last of his strength began to fade. Once she stopped she stepped in front of him as she fished out a small plastic beaker and placed it to her lips, allowing some of his blood to pour into it before she put a cap on it and stored it away. Then she brought out a silver short sword, probably less than two feet long with some dried blood on the end.

He recognized it as the same blade she had stabbed his shoulder with. He watched as she gave him one last smirk before she thrust the blade forward, running it through his sternum until the point breached out of his back as he coughed up some blood. She then pulled it back out and wiped it down on her cloak before putting it away.

"A pleasure, Silver Demon," she said as she stepped back while unfurling her wings before she jumped up and with one powerful wingbeat, disappeared into the night sky.

He then slowly fell back, looking at the sky and the cold light of the shattered moon. '_She right…'_ he thought bitterly as the darkness closed in around him. '_I'm just a demon. I can't do anything else than hurt those around me…' _For a moment he thought of Athena and not seeing her smiling face again, his chest starting to feel empty as one final tear leaked out before everything faded into black . . .

* * *

**Author's Rant: . . . . . Damn . . . am I the only one that kinda wants to cry here? Hope you ladies and gents enjoyed! **

**Review~Comment~Favorite~Follow! and until next time!**


	31. Nightmare

**Author's Note: I said it wouldn't be long and I delivered! Hope everyone enjoys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"Pull in a little closer," instructed Havasu.

"Got it," replied Crato as he adjusted the boat parallel to the old dock.

"Alright Thantos, jump up there and see if you can find anything to secure the boat with," Havasu continued.

Thantos nodded as he jumped up to the dock several meters above them while Havasu used part of a broken chain to tie the bow of the boat to a wood beam.

"We are heading up there now!" said Kiara as she jumped up as well.

Athena followed her lead and jumped onto the dock, immediately running behind Kiara as she searched for Dante. The moment they had gotten within 10 meters of the abandoned docks, Kiara had detected the scent of Dante's blood and gotten even more agitated. Now they were both running ahead, following Kiara's nose while the others secured the boat though it was tough keeping up with Kiara since Athena had to run barefoot.

She followed behind the lioness as she bolted through a broken door into an old storehouse. As she got closer, she noticed that the roof looked like it had caved in recently, some pieces of aluminum and wood occasionally falling. She ran through the door and nearly bumped into Kiara standing right in the middle of floor, standing rigid with her ears flat against her head.

Athena was about to ask what was wrong when she followed Kiara's line of sight, her blood turning to ice at the sight. Lying on the floor was Dante, unconscious and wet while covered in red and black blood. Athena instantly bolted forward towards him and kneeled beside him, her heart racing as she searched for a pulse only to realize his neck had been bitten into, red blood leaking onto his collar and throat.

She then looked at his left arm and squeezed her hand around his bicep, looking for the brachial artery. She detected a pulse though it was faint and weak, his body feeling almost cold which worried her even more. She looked at his shoulder, fear beginning to grip her as she stared at the stab wound. She then looked at his chest and a knot formed in her stomach as she moved his torn vest and coat out of the way to get a clear view.

" . . . No . . ." she mumbled as her hands began to tremble.

Dante had been stabbed straight through the chest, splitting his sternum and barely grazing his heart. '_W-Why isn't he healing? This . . . this can't be happening! He's never been beaten! He can't . . . be . . . be . . .'_ her mind was going blank as she looked at his bloody face, panic starting to grip her. She tore her eyes away from him to Kiara, whom still hadn't moved since she entered the building. She was rigid, her eyes nailed to Dante as tears began to leak out. Athena recognized the look in her eyes. It was the same look Dante had when he told her about the outpost. Kiara was in shock, watching as the last piece of family she had left neared their end.

"Kiara!" Athena shouted, desperately trying to break Kiara out of her stupor.

It seemed to work momentarily, Kiara shifting her gaze to meet Athena's.

"Listen to me. Go to the boat and look for any medical supplies and tell Thantos to call for any emergency transport, now!"

Kiara seemed to hesitate for a moment, glancing between her and Dante before she spun on her heel and ran out back to the boat. Athena returned her attention to her leader, tuning out her panic and beginning to seal his injuries as best she could. She grabbed his shirt and ripped it open to get a full view of the damage but what she saw unnerved her.

Bordering the wound, Dante's veins were turning black as if something was spreading from it. She tore off the cloth covering his shoulder to find the same black veins spreading from the cut as black blood seeped out of it. She knew she need to seal the wounds and cut off whatever was in his blood from spreading so she placed on hand on his shoulder, right over the cut, and began focusing her aura. After a few seconds passed, she removed her hand leaving a blue crystal covering over the cut, effectively stopping the bleeding. She softly rolled him onto his side and repeated the process on the other end of the stab wound, also noticing for the first time that the chest wound had gone through his back as well.

As she began forming a crystal over the opening on his back, Kiara came rushing in with Havasu and Crato in toe. This time Kiara seemed more focused as she placed some medical gauze and sealing wraps.

"Wrap up his shoulder while I seal his chest," Athena instructed as she rolled him back onto his back.

Kiara nodded and began bandaging his shoulder while Athena got to work on his chest. Havasu was also helping Kiara with the wrapping, his usually calm face now looking worried as he kept glancing at the black blood. Once she finished, she grabbed some gauze and began applying it over his chest, hopefully keeping the crystal in place, as the others finished with his shoulder and moved on to his neck. As they finished Thantos and Crato ran in, both saying 'shit' in unison once they spotted Dante.

"I just called in the transport, they are about 30 minutes out and Lucian is on his way as well," Thantos said.

"So all we can do is sit tight," Havasu added weakly.

"Isn't there anything else we can do for him," Kiara asked softly as she kneeled beside Dante, brushing away some of his hair.

Seeing Kiara look so sad and on the verge of tears made Athena want to cry herself but she couldn't, not while they were still out on a mission. Dante had placed her in charge of the mission and she was going to remain strong until they could get back to Beacon.

* * *

"That was so much fun!"

"Easy there Ruby, who knows what will happen with all that sugar running through you. Maybe we should have rationed your candy."

"Oh come on Blake! You know I couldn't resist those chocolate strawberries . . . besides you had some too!" defended the redhead.

"Yes, but not 3 small boxes worth," retorted Blake. "I still can't believe you convinced Weiss to buy you so many," she added with an accusatory glance at the heiress.

Weiss lightly blushed as she looked away from their little group, freshly returned from the first night of the autumn festival. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY had met up in Vale to enjoy the opening night and after a few hours, split into smaller groups. Coco, Yatsu, Fox, and Yang had gone on to bar hop, team JNPR had decided to head to the docks and watch some small plays being presented for children (Nora was adamant on watching), leaving Weiss, Ruby, Blake, and Velvet to walk around the city.

As they had walked around the group passed by several small kiosks selling artisan candies and small carnival like games. That led to Ruby wanting chocolate covered strawberries and after using her infamous puppy face, Weiss caved and bought everyone enough candy to last a week or an hour in Ruby's case. Blake had found the little exchange between them adorable but had resisted the urge to tease them until later in the night.

After the candy, they proceeded to play some of the games such as shooting wooden targets with water guns and bobbing for apples in a barrel. During the water gun game Blake had learned that Velvet wasn't much of a shot, failing to win a small ursa plushy. After teasing her for a little, Blake won it for her, making the bunny beam as she gave it to her. Thinking about it now, when Velvet had smiled so warmly Blake couldn't help but feel warm herself.

Blake glanced to her right at Velvet, the bunny still hugging onto her plushy as she almost skipped with joy, a small cream colored ribbon tied to one of her ears making her look even cuter than normal. Velvet seemed to notice her gaze, looking back at her with a big smile. Blake felt her cheeks start to warm up with a blush so she hastily looked at the sky, playing off her slight embarrassment.

"Something wrong Blake?" Velvet asked curiously.

"Fine . . . just admiring the moon," Blake half-lied. She wasn't exactly fine but looking at the pale beauty of the moon was soothing.

"It does look pretty tonight," Velvet agreed as she looked up as well.

After a few seconds they both resumed looking forward, enjoying the quiet as the group walked back to their dorm. Since it wasn't too late and team CFVY wouldn't be back for a while, the four had decided to watch a movie together while they waited for the others to return.

They had just gotten back to the campus and were walking along one of the open air halls to the dorms. As a cool breeze rolled by Velvet suddenly stopped walking, standing rigid as if caught in a headlight.

"Velvet?" said Blake as she stopped as well, Weiss and Ruby just taking notice as they turned around to look at Velvet.

"Do you smell that?" asked Velvet as she looked around.

Blake wasn't sure what she meant so she took a deep breath through her nose, a variety of scents suddenly filling her senses. She tried to sort through them until she noticed one differed from the rest. I smelled somewhat like iron and sulfur, the scent feeling almost familiar. Blake racked her brain for where she had smelled it before until it clicked, her eyes widening in alarm as she looked at Velvet. She looked like she had come to the same conclusion.

"Guys?" asked Ruby in a worried tone as she looked between them.

"Something's wrong," Blake answered before she turned and bolted down the hall with Velvet close behind.

As they ran through the halls she could hear the others following, Weiss barely managing to match their speed. They entered one of the buildings and flew up the stairs until they reached a familiar door. Blake didn't even hesitate as she forcefully knocked on the door. She could hear some muffled voices on the other side but didn't hear anyone getting closer.

"It's Blake!" she called out, hoping that they would open up since it was her.

As the others fidgeted behind her she could hear some footsteps approaching the door from the other side. The door opened to reveal Havasu and immediately Blake caught the scent coming off his arm. She didn't even bother asking why he looked like some waiter or that his arm looked like it was covered in black fluid.

"Why do you smell like Dante's blood?" she asked, her worry starting to turn to panic.

"What!? What do you mean blood?" asked Weiss from behind her, completely blindsided by the new information.

Havasu didn't answer, he just looked back at her without a trace of emotion before he stepped aside for them to come in. Blake quickly walked in until she got to the common room, the others right beside her. She saw that Athena and Kiara were sitting on the sofa but Athena didn't look good. Her right arm was bandaged up from her wrist to the shoulder, and she seemed to have some bruising around her neck. She also had the smell of blood coming off her though it was mixed with another's that Blake couldn't recognize.

Kiara beside her didn't look hurt but Blake could tell that she was distressed about something. The entire atmosphere felt heavy and oppressive, the Slayers all looking worried.

"What happened?" Weiss asked softly as she eyed Athena's injuries.

Athena shared glances with Kiara and Havasu before looking at them to answer but Blake beat her to it.

"You just got back from your mission, didn't you?" she asked softly.

Athena looked surprised that she knew but slowly nodded. Everyone stayed silent for a moment, unsure of how to proceed until Velvet asked softly.

"W-Where is Dante?"

At the mention of the name Kiara began to sniff, tears threatening to break out while Athena tried to comfort her by squeezing her hand.

Havasu stepped forward beside them with a tired sigh before he met their eyes.

"Dante is in the hospital wing right now. . ."

The four girls gasped, shocked to hear that one of the Slayers was injured.

"What happened?" Weiss asked again, this time with more urgency.

"We don't really know . . . we found him wounded and unconscious so we rushed back as quickly as possible," Havasu answered.

"But he is going to be ok, right? I mean, he heals so fast that he should be out of their in no time… right?" Asked Ruby, her words getting weaker as she spoke.

"We don't know. Lucian stayed in emergency care and said he would let us know. We just got back 10 minutes ago," answered Athena, speaking for the first time.

"Just how bad was it?" asked Blake. One part of her was dreading the answer but she needed to know.

Athena and Kiara looked at their feet, unwilling to describe what they saw so Havasu answered.

"He was bitten in several locations. By what, we aren't sure. He also had two massive stab wounds through his shoulder and . . ." he started to hesitate.

" . . . And?" Velvet persisted.

". . . Through his chest, just barely missing his heart," answered Kiara in a frail voice without looking up.

". . ."

The girls remained silent, at a loss for words as they fully envisioned just how dire of a condition Dante is in. Blake glanced at Velvet to see that she was hugging the plushy so tight the head might pop off. She tried to comfort her by placing her hand on Velvet's shoulder but it didn't help much since she was trembling herself. After a while Blake looked at the silent Slayers.

"Can we go and see him?" she asked as calmly as she could.

Athena looked at her for a moment before she stood up, her face worried yet calm.

"We'll all go. Just let us get changed out of this clothes and we can head out," she said.

Kiara and Havasu looked at her for a moment before they nodded in agreement and left to their dorm while Athena walked into her room.

All the girls could do now was wait and pray that they would get good news when they got there.

* * *

Tic…toc…tic…toc…

A low growl echoed through the halls, drowning out the insistent ticking of an old clock hung at the beginning of the white hall. The air smelled like antibiotic and blood, not a single soul within sight as he waited, his patience already running thin.

'_Where the hell are they!? They should have been done by now!' _the wolf thought as he tapped his foot, trying to keep himself from walking over to the clock and smashing the infernal thing. He could hear the grinding of the gears, the sound reverberating within his skull and threatening to make him snap.

He had been waiting for some time now, switching between sitting and walking back and forth across the hall. After the transport had arrived back to Beacon, the Slayers had divided up. While Thantos and Crato took charge of the captive, Lucian had stayed with Athena, Havasu, and Kiara as they rushed Dante to emergency care. The entire event had been frantic as the doctors took him in, separating him from the rest of the Slayers.

The doctors had then informed them that they would be notified once operations were done and suggested they leave but none of the Slayers were willing to go. They had waited together for what felt like hours until Lucian decided that they wouldn't do any good staying around so he sent the others back to the dorms to change, get rest, and hopefully calm down. He could tell that the longer Athena and Kiara stood by the more unsettled they would get. It took some convincing but the girls finally relented and left along with Havasu since Lucian wanted to be alone to clear his head.

The night's plans were shattered and now their leader was in critical condition. The moment Lucian had arrived on scene, he took charge of the group as he collected all accounts of what happened while also trying to keep the others calm. Even though he tried not to, he could vividly recall how shocked his fellow Slayers were, their spirits low as they waited for the bullhead to arrive.

He sighed as he ran his hand through his dyed hair, his wolf ears twitching at the contact. He stood up for the hundredth time as he walked down the hall before stopping beside a small reception desk, looking down an adjacent hall leading to the actual hospital rooms. He could hear some of the room occupants, some snoring while others groaned from their various injuries along with the occasional nurse checking in.

He turned around and walked back to his seat, his head beginning to throb from a headache. '_What if he doesn't pull through? Kiara and Athena would surely be devastated, not to mention his mentees and pack. There only so much I could do to help them endure that kind of loss …' _Lucian groaned as his headache worsened. He was about to get up and resume his pointless pacing until he heard various footfalls approaching. He didn't even bother looking, already knowing who they were just by the aura signatures he was reading. They were all agitated, some more than others, as they stopped beside him, waiting for him to say something.

He mentally counted until 10 before looking at the new arrivals, his stomach dropping to his knees at the sight. There were his fellow Slayers, save Crato and Thantos, all changed into more casual attire of shorts and t-shirts, looking as gloomy as he remembered yet he wasn't prepared to see the younger students in such sad states. Ruby was almost trembling as Weiss draped an arm around her for support, Velvet looked like she was ready to cry while she clung on to a plushy in her arms, and Blake stood beside her with her fists clenched.

Everyone remained silent as Lucian stood up, all looking intently as they waited until Athena broke the silence.

"Anything yet?"

He shook his head in response, the others deflating more at the lack of news.

"What happened to you?" Ruby asked weakly.

He looked down at his clothes, now missing the coat since it was too bloody and torn up leaving him in the button shirt and vest, some splotches of blood running along his shoulder and arms.

"Got into a fight," he answered softly. The group fell silent again, the atmosphere becoming heavier by the minute as Lucian resumed his pacing while some sat down and waited.

Almost 30 minutes went by before Lucian detected a new presence approaching smelling of latex and disinfectant. He stood still as a doctor, a small woman dressed in surgery clothes, walked up to him. He heard some of the others shuffle forward but he raised a hand to stop the oncoming questioning before nodding to the doctor. She gave a tired glance to the others before looking up at Lucian and speaking.

"We have completed surgery and have done everything we could . . ." she trailed off, her eyes lowering.

"Yes, and?" Lucian said evenly.

"We cannot guarantee he will survive the night," she answered softly.

As she said those words Lucian heard multiple gasps and whimpers behind him but he kept his eyes trained on the doctor.

"What is his condition?" he asked a little more forcefully than was necessary.

The doctor gave a sigh before responding. "After you delivered him we started to operate on the obvious wounds, draining out the black blood and whatever was in it before stitching up most of the openings. We also had to dislodge the crystal coverings your teammate used to prevent him from bleeding out but there was a complication."

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply making the doctor jump.

"Though the crystal in his shoulder and back were removed cleanly, the crystal lodged in his chest couldn't be removed since it had begun to fuse with the flesh around it," she answered meekly.

Lucian looked at the doctor in confusion, unsure as to what they could mean for Dante.

"What happened after?" he asked even as his thoughts raced to understand what was happening.

"Since we didn't know if removing the crystal would cause more damage we left it in place. After all the wounds were sealed we tried to give him a blood transfusion but it didn't work."

"What do you mean?" asked Havasu as he got up beside Lucian.

"Our records say he is type O positive but the moment the blood entered, his body rejected it violently. Without the transplant, it is possible his body will stop functioning," the doctor finished while looking down.

Lucian stared at the doctor silently, the severity of the news slowly settling in. He knew the others behind him weren't doing well.

"Where is he?" Lucian asked softly.

The doctor looked at him for a moment before slowly turning and gesturing for them to follow. The group walked quietly behind the doctor, heading down the adjacent hall until they reached a set of double doors leading to another smaller hall.

"This section is used for the more severe cases and access is limited to hospital staff and teachers but since you are Slayers, I can make an exception," the doctor said as they continued down the hall.

The walked up to the last door on left before the doctor swiped a small access key, a click signaling for them to continue. They walked into a spacious room, the floor and walls all pristinely white with a large window to the far wall. Aside from a few chairs and a small table, the room was mostly filled up by the hospital bed and some heart monitors, a dim bedside lamp being the only source of light.

Then there was Dante, his form unmoving as he rested under the dim light. The blankets only covered up to his waist while the rest of his body was covered in bandages. Even with the wounds sealed, some blood had managed to leak out, lightly staining his chest and right shoulder but otherwise he looked almost peaceful.

Lucian walked up to the bed, stopping just at the foot while he looked at his slumbering leader. The others gathered around as well, Athena and Kiara each taking one of Dante's sides as they looked at his face intently. Lucian glanced at the doctor who had remained beside the door, giving her a small nod to let her know she could leave. She understood his meaning and departed without another word.

The remained silent for some time, taking in the sight as the dragon lightly breathed, his chest barely rising along with the soft beep of a heart monitor being the only signs that he was alive.

After some time Velvet broke the silence. "He's going to pull through, right?" she asked softly.

"Of course he is," Blake answered as she tried to comfort Velvet but even her voice was shaky.

". . . B-But what if he doesn't?" asked Ruby making the others look at her. It was clear that she was on the verge of tears as she looked at Dante, her lip beginning to quiver even as Weiss pulled her into a side hug, hiding part of her face in Ruby's hair.

Lucian couldn't bare the sight much longer. Seeing his friends and the mentees that looked up to them so worried made him want to comfort them but he didn't know how. '_Who am I to tell them things will be ok? I don't even know if I could offer the same care and protection Dante wanted for them . . . after all, I'm just a runaway.'_

"He will make it."

Everyone looked at Athena in surprise, her voice being both calm and confident in contrast to the others. Athena looked back at them, her eyes burning with passion as she continued to speak.

"He is going to pull through," she repeated.

"But how do you know?" asked Velvet as she wiped away a stray tear.

"Because he has people to live for now. I know he cares about us and wants to see us safe and sound. Something like this isn't going to stop the Dante I know. He will fight through it, you'll see and when he opens his eyes, we will be here with him," she continued, her words carrying warmth and strength.

Lucian himself had been feeling nervous after the doctor explained Dante's condition but now, hearing Athena's words calmed him. He didn't know how but for some reason he felt her words were true. His leader would prevail and rejoin his team and friends, Lucian could feel it in his gut.

He took a soft breath before speaking "You are right . . ."

The group looked at him now.

"He is going to make it, I can feel it."

His agreeing with Athena seemed to do the trick, some of the girls noticeably calming down while giving him appreciative smiles. As some returned their attention to the sleeping dragon Lucian glanced at a clock on the wall and noticed it was very late. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before speaking.

"I know everyone is still worried but I think it's best you head out and get some rest . . ." He looked at his fellow Slayers ". . . all of you."

It seemed that Athena was about to protest until he raised a hand to pause her.

"I'll stay here and watch him tonight. One of you can shift with me tomorrow and so on, ok?"

Athena exchanged a quick look with Kiara before they both nodded, albeit reluctantly. Lucian looked at the younger girls as well, noting that Velvet and Blake looked very reluctant but didn't voice any objections.

Soon they started to head out with Ruby and Weiss being first. Velvet and Blake followed next but not before Velvet went up to Dante and gave him a kiss on the forehead before taking her plushy and placing it beside his arm. Lucian couldn't help but smile at the display, seeing that Dante truly was important to the young faunus. After the younger girls left with Havasu going along as an escort, Athena and Kiara each gave Dante a kiss on the cheek before slowly walking out though Kiara stopped for a moment and surprised Lucian with a hug.

"Thanks for looking after him," she whispered softly before pulling away and leaving the room.

Lucian stood in shock for a few seconds, not expecting any sort of gratitude towards him. He lightly shook it off before closing the door to the room and the walking to the window. He unlocked the latch and opened it up, a soft breeze rolling in as the night was illuminated by the soft glow of the moon.

He leaned against the window sill as he faced Dante's bed, silently watching as his leader slept. As he watched, he couldn't help but wonder just how it felt to be in a pack with him. Lucian knew Dante was fiercely protective and caring, capable of making anyone feel as if they belong and Lucian couldn't help but admire that.

He sighed as he looked out into the night, waiting in the cool breeze as his leader recovered and would soon open his eyes again.

'_Being in a pack with you really wouldn't be that bad at all . . .'_

* * *

**Author's Rant: . . . I know, I just keep going with cliffhangers. Don't worry, I will hopefully be on a roll and get the next chapters out soon! Hope everyone enjoyed!**

**Please comment and review!**

**Till next time**


	32. To Pray

**Author's Note: What's up everyone!? Hope that you have been enjoying the recent chapters. Please enjoy!**

**Betas: Noobalisious and yuvinile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

As a clock reaches 8 am, an alarm goes off, stirring up the room's occupant. She gets up groggily, searching for the clock with one hand as the other rubs out the sleepiness from her eyes. At last she finds the snooze button, silencing the irritating sound as she turns her body towards the edge of the bed, her legs dangling lazily off the side.

" . . . Why does it have to be morning?" she grumbled as her eyes adjusted to the low light.

She looked to the bed opposite hers, noting the untouched sheets and missing roommate, making a knot form in her stomach as she forced herself to get up and head to the bathroom. Once inside she flicked the lights on and looked into the mirror. Her hair was disheveled, dark rings formed beneath her eyes from lack of sleep. '_I look like a train wreck . . .' _she thought as she stripped and turned on the shower before jumping straight in without bothering to wait for the water to warm.

She clenched her jaw as the cold water ran over her body, the cold taking away any drowsiness that might have remained. She quickly began to wash, wanting to finish and leave already. As she finished she turned off the water while stepping out and grabbing a towel before beginning to dry off. She then steps out into her room and collects her clothes for the day, making short work of getting dressed in her usual school uniform, even the annoying tie.

Now dressed, she left her room and then walked out of the dorm suite, into the quiet halls and out of the teacher's dormitory. She walked in silence, her usual smile and cheery demeanor absent as she made her way to the hospital wing. She walked past the staff, barely even registering them even when they gave her soft greetings though she would give a slight nod occasionally. As she arrived to the last room of the hallway she read over the occupant name beside a small envelope fixed to the door, containing status reports for doctors and nurses. She almost stopped to read the files but didn't want to possibly find alarming material, she was worried enough as it was.

She then slowly opened the door, making sure to make as little noise as possible, before stepping in and shutting it behind her. Once inside she saw the familiar hospital room, the white walls and roof, the dim lamps beside the heart monitor, a small drawer with a small plushy on it, the ever present smell of disinfectant but there was also something somewhat different. While the bed's user hadn't moved at all, resting beside him was a familiar feline, her lion ears peeking out of her crimson mane of hair.

'_She must have fallen asleep due to exhaustion . . . can't blame her though, none of us have been getting our usual sleep lately.' _The lioness had fallen asleep while watching over her injured leader, having pulled up a chair to sit beside him while her head rested on his arm as she clasped his hand in her's. She walked over to the sleeping feline before gently tapping her shoulder, eliciting a soft murmur before the lion opened her eyes.

". . . Mm . . . Athena . . . when did you get here?" the lioness asked as she slowly raised her head.

"I just got in," she replied softly. "When did you fall asleep?"

Kiara's ears twitched as her head swiveled around to look at a small clock reading 8:20 am.

"Umm . . . around 6:48, I think," Kiara answered.

"Then you should head to your dorm and get some proper sleep," said Athena as she sat on another chair to the opposite side of Kiara, beside Dante's left shoulder.

Kiara looked like she was about to protest but whatever it was died in her mouth as she gave a somewhat defeated sigh. Athena could see the worry in Kiara's eyes, the uncertainty of what is to come. Athena thought that she probably had the same look though she was hoping she could play it off better.

"I'll watch after him," Athena said trying to reassure Kiara but it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

"Yeah . . . I know you will . . . it's just . . . I'm scared," Kiara said in almost a whisper, as if speaking any louder would cause her worries to manifest.

Athena understood why she was scared though. It has been nearly a week since the mission and Dante being hospitalized. Even though he had survived the night, albeit by the skin of his teeth, the doctors couldn't verify what exactly could be done for him. The extreme blood loss along with the poison in his system kept his body from recovering and even seemed to block his aura from properly flowing through his arm.

She remembered the near panic attack she had when the doctors informed them a day later of the test results and what they found…

* * *

"What do you mean 'strange substances'!?" asked a very agitated Kiara.

"What I mean . . ." the doctor tried to elaborate as the Slayers crowded closer, ". . . is that during the initial blood tests, unidentified substances were found and sent into a more specialized lab for further testing. What we found turnout to have traces of dust, Moonlight dust to be exact."

"What does that mean?" asked Lucian in a slightly calmer fashion.

" . . . It means . . ." Thantos began to speak as his skin paled, ". . . is that Dante had to have been stabbed with something made of Wolves Bane Iron."

The Slayers fell silent, the news hitting them like a truck. If it was such a blade that had stabbed him, then there was no way to directly counteract it. The only ways to save a victim from the poisoning is to clear out the contaminated blood as quickly as possible and in most cases, amputating the afflicted appendage since contact in the torso or neck meant certain death.

Athena looked at the doctor, her own hands beginning to tremble as she asked "Is there anything that can be done?"

The doctor took a breath before responding, "Honestly, by all accounts he should have died within minutes of being stabbed in the chest. The fact that he survived until you got him here is a miracle within itself. We managed to clear out most of the poisoned blood but even then, trace effects can remain in victims. We think that is why his aura seems to be hindered within his arm"

". . ."

"There is also the issue of mass blood loss. That coupled with severe shock from some form of collision to the side of his head sent him into a coma. We do not know if he will awaken," The doctor finished.

As the last words registered in her mind she felt tears begin to leak out. She felt her entire body tremble, as if caught in a chilling breeze while the tears continued to flow. '_No . . . this can't be happening . . . it's just a bad dream . . . it has to be!' _she thought desperately, the warmth of her body beginning to fade. She slowly turned to look at the hospital bed behind them, her partner and leader lying motionless, oblivious to the news being delivered.

She could her Kiara sobbing lightly again beside her while Havasu seemed to try to comfort her. She didn't know how the others were taking it but judging from the sounds of deep breathing and knuckles cracking from being clenched so hard, it wasn't good. She herself could feel her legs start to shake and her breathing becoming shallow. It was the same as when Nyx had mentioned possible torture in their classes, the sudden surge of memories filled with pain sending her into a state of near shock but this time there wasn't a familiar warmth embracing her. Now she felt alone and cold, powerless to help the person she loves . . .

* * *

Athena shook her head, trying to think of anything else but that horrible night. After the news had settled and they had each left for their rooms that night, Thantos being the watch for the night, Athena had finally broken down and cried alone in her room. She didn't remember when she finally passed out, only that she felt exhausted and had decided to skip classes for the day.

Blake and Velvet had stopped by, wanting to know how Dante was doing as well as see how she was since she hadn't been in Port's lecture. Athena had tried to be as honest as she could and sadly had to be the one to tell them what the doctor had said. If she had taken it badly, the girls took it even worse, especially Velvet. She had tried her best to counsel the girls but it had little effect so she decided to have them both excused from the rest of their classes for the day and had them stay with her. After some time both girls had fallen asleep on the sofa, Velvet resting her head on Athena's lap while Blake leaned her head on her shoulder.

They had stayed like that until around 5 pm when the rest of team RWBY came looking for Blake, waking them up when Athena got up to answer the door. After she gave a brief explanation to them as to what had happened and why Blake stayed there the whole day Athena sent them off back to their dorm to get some proper rest. Once the girls had left Athena had changed and met up with Kiara before they both went together to the hospital.

It was now a usual pattern, the Slayers frequently stopping by to check up for any news with the occasional student, usually one of team RWBY or Velvet, tagging along. Athena had been somewhat surprised to see that even the other students that had become aware of the news regarding an injured Slayer, show concern. It really showed that the students in general, not just those being personally mentored, held the Slayers in high esteem and became concerned if one was injured.

Yet all she could do now was sit there and wait, hoping that the silver haired leader would open his eyes. She continued to look at his face while Kiara got up and slowly walked out, looking over her shoulder one last time before closing the door, leaving Athena alone with Dante. She slowly leaned forward with an outstretched hand and caressed the side of his cheek gently before brushing his dyed hair back. '_He feels cold compared to how he normally is' _she thought as she leaned back a little and looked at his chest.

The bandages originally covering most of his chest had been removed and replace with a lighter cover since the chest injury was sealed with the crystal being fully fused to his chest. She could see the upper edge of the crystal, the color now almost a dull and faded blue unlike its originally vibrant color when she formed it. She didn't understand how that had happened or what it meant. She had asked Lucian and Kiara if it was something to do with being an Alpha but they were both as perplexed as she was.

She reached over and gently rested her hand on the crystal, the surface feeling slightly warmer than his skin. She then looked at his face again before she started to speak softly.

"Dante . . . I don't know if you can hear me but . . . please, come back to us. You are stronger than this, you can survive this . . ." she could feel tears begin to fall along her cheeks but she continued regardless, "I know it hurts and you've suffered so much that sometimes you just wish the pain would stop . . . and I know what I'm going to say next is selfish but . . . you need to keep struggling on, don't give up."

" . . ."

"Maybe you had your doubts about us, thought that we could never truly accept you or return your feelings but we do. The students look up to you, your team cares about you, Blake, Velvet and Kiara need you . . . and so do I. They love you Dante . . . I love you," she took a sharp breath after the words left her mouth. She hadn't ever said it before but it felt right to. That she needed to tell him how she truly felt.

"I love you Dante and I want to have you here with me. Fighting by my side, making jokes, laughing, holding me in your arms, being a strong shoulder to cry on, and also for me to support you. Even if the times are sad and cold, I want to be with you so please . . . please come back to us, come back to me," she finished as she grasped his hand and rested her forehead on it as more tears ran free.

As she cried with the full release of her emotions, she failed to notice the slightest squeeze being applied to her hand . . .

* * *

**Author's Rant: . . . yeah, I regret nothing! Normally I hate cliff hangers but ow well! The next one should come out in a bit (hopefully)**

**Until then, please comment, review, and let me know what you guys think!**

**Thank You!**


	33. And to Answer

**Author's Note: And here we are with the second bit! I think quite some people have been waiting for this one, oh yeah!**

**Betas: yuvinile and Noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

'_. . . dark . . . cold . . . why? I can't move at all . . . why is that?'_

He focused on his eyes, willing them to open yet the task felt like lead weights were keeping his eyes shut. He kept trying, struggling for what felt like ages until his eyes snapped open yet what he saw only confused him more.

He could hardly turn his neck to get a full view but it looked like he was suspended in a black and red void. He glanced up and noted some of his hair flowing just within his eyesight. '_Not suspended . . . floating . . . but where?'_

His searched around for an answer but found nothing aside from the void surrounding him. It felt odd to say the least, the sensation being reminiscent of being weightless yet he didn't feel wet and didn't seem to have any problem breathing. He could also feel most of his body but it was numb and heavy, almost completely unresponsive to his commands. His frustration grew as he tried to make any movement but it seemed pointless, even his mouth seemed to be sealed without the slightest chance of being forced open like his eyes.

'_Great . . . stuck in I don't know where without being able to move or talk. Just great. How the hell did I get here anyways?'_ he thought as he closed his eyes to focus.

After a few moments his eyes snapped open as he remembered the mission. The sudden attack, fighting the shark faunus, being stabbed in the chest, and . . . seeing his friends torn apart around him. The moment the image came to mind, the space before him shifted until it seemed to almost form a sphere of red and black spinning in front of him. Then the center of the sphere turned into the very memory he had recalled, in full and clear cruelty, down to the eyes of those he had seen stare back at him.

His heart began to race as the image played out, the fighting, the bodies, his falling back as the last thought came to him but it sounded as if it was coming from all directions, blasting his ears 'I'm just a demon . . . I can't do anything else than hurt those around me.'

As the words boomed out the image in the sphere changed, replaced by the faces of those he had ended. The faces of inhabitants from the outpost, targets he had hunted down, the traitorous faunus that had tried to kill him. He could see how each died, the terror and pain they suffered in their last moments. As each face passed he felt his blood run colder and colder as tears welled up at his eyes.

'_Just a monster . . . a demon.'_

The images shifted again though now it showed the faces of those he cared about but not their smiles or happy times, no, these were all the times they looked at him with fear. Blake when he had choked her, the students and their looks of terror when his fangs and eyes had been revealed, and worst of all, Athena's face when he had killed the bear faunus in front of her. The look in her eyes was unbearable, a sight he hoped to never have to bare again.

He tried closing his own eyes but couldn't, as if it was some form of punishment being exacted on him. He struggle in vain to turn his head away, the memories and pain of it all being too much to handle. Suddenly, he felt as if he was falling, the sphere before him rapidly ascending while he plummeted into absolute darkness. He could feel the pressure rising, the cold gripping his body as the void tried to consume him, snuffing him out for good.

'_I . . . I can't . . . anymore,' _he thought as he looked up, no longer able to even feel his arms or legs. '_What's the point if I just keep hurting everyone I care about . . . they're better off without me . . .'_

"Yes they are"

'_What!?' _he thought in alarm as he tried to find the source of the voice but with his limited neck movement he couldn't see much at all.

He felt a cold yet familiar sensation wash over him, caressing his neck as the voice spoke again.

"Forget about them, they are scared of you, hate you, despise you . . ." the voice said cruelly.

'_No . . . no, you are wrong!' _he tried to defend.

He didn't know what or who it was but he could feel the presence laugh at him, amused at his desperate attempt to ignore the words that rang with such clarity.

"Try all you want but you can't hide from the truth . . . you are nothing more than a monster. Born of those two destroyers, tainted with the blood of hundreds, how could you be anything else but a curse on this world?" the voice said.

'_I . . . I . . .' _he couldn't think of any response, his will slowly fading as he shut his eyes in defeat.

There was only silence for some time until he opened his eyes to see something unexpected. Before him was a full body mirror displaying him yet not him. In the mirror he was bounded by chains pulling his limbs together like a prisoner, fresh blood dripping of some of the links but was surprised him more was his own eyes. Instead of being hazel or the regular dragon eyes, they were nearly black with red rings bordering the irises, giving him an odd feeling that he'd seen them before.

'_They are just like her eyes . . .' _he thought as he remembered the encounter with the vampire.

Also behind his reflection was a shadow with glowing red lights for eyes and a cruel sneer, a hand wrapped around his neck.

"Just let the void take you, let the pain end . . ." the voice said all around him as the mouth of the shadow moved in pace with it.

He looked into his own eyes, his fears being reflected to show him just how weak he really is. He looked down, the last of his spirit beginning to fade as the shadows closed in around him . . .

" . . . You are stronger than this . . ."

His eyes snapped up as another voice sounded out, soft and warm. He looked back at the mirror, his own reflection the same thought the shadow seemed to have lost its sneer.

" . . . Don't give up . . ." the soft voice called, this time making him feel a slight warmth on his cheeks.

He tried to find its source, forcing his neck to comply as he searched around, no longer focusing on the mirror or the shadow.

" . . . I love you . . ."

He felt his very core pulse as the words came to him, finally allowing him to recognize the voice.

'_. . . Athena . . .' _he thought as he looked back into the mirror, the shadow obviously no longer looking pleased. Then he noticed something peculiar, making him wonder if it had been there from the start. In the reflection, his mirror self had a soft glow coming from his chest, a soft blueish glow. He looked down and realized that it was on his own chest as well, the glow starting to give him a tender warmth that he would recognize anywhere.

" . . . Come back to me . . ." her voice called, the glow growing brighter with every word.

' _. . . I will . . . regardless of what gets in my way . . . I will come back!' _he thought as he looked defiantly at the mirror.

The shadow was now clearly angry but its gaze no longer affected him, the words it had said losing meaning as Athena's voice gave him strength. He started to regain feeling in his arms, his fists beginning to clench as he struggled against his restraints.

'_Let go of me!' _he mentally shouted as he began to force his arms open, his reflection copying his actions.

"Never! You can't defy me!" the shadow shouted back as it applied a tighter grip on his throat in the mirror.

He felt his blood begin to boil in anger. He didn't know where that thing came from but he didn't care, he was going to get out. He felt the warmth of the blue glow begin to spread through his being, mixing with his own aura before it started to flare up, highlighting his frame in silver and blue streaks rather than the usual red. The space around him began to radiate as he pulled harder, his aura output continuously increasing.

He looked in the mirror as the shadow started to scream, it's form beginning to wither and evaporate as silver flames began to coat his body. He looked at his own eyes, the color beginning to shift as the red rings began to dissolve before his eyes fully shifted to the dragon form. Yet they had also changed, now some of the red tendrils within his irises looked almost dark blue rather than their usual red, making his silver eyes glow with hues of red and blue.

He took a deep breath before his mouth tore open, a deafening roar escaping his jaws as the chains in the mirror melted off, his aura forming a geyser of energy around him. As his roar died down he regained movement of his body and the pitch void around him began to change into a tranquil silver space. It no longer felt as if he was drowning in darkness but floating in a serene lake, the space around him gentle and calm, a feeling of peace filling him.

As silence followed he could hear the faintest sound, almost like crying coming from far away. He tilted his head around, wondering again where it was coming from. Even though now he could fully feel his body again, he couldn't exactly move it. It wasn't as if he couldn't command it but that it was heavy and sluggish. He closed his eyes and focused on the presence he could feel so close to him, willing his body to move, not this apparition of his body but his real body, the one that was close to the one he wanted to see most.

He slowly exhaled as his frame relaxed, his eyes remaining closed as he focused with only his senses. For a moment everything went silent, the sensation of floating disappearing as it was replaced by a firm surface beneath him. He tried to open his eyes again but they felt heavy again, his body somewhat numb yet he could make out some of the surfaces touching him. He tried to move his right arm but felt a sharp pain flare back at him so he then focused on his left, lightly squeezing something warm in his hand.

He then refocused on his eyes as his other senses came back to him. He could feel a bed, bandages, and something resting on his left arm, the smell of disinfectant as well as a soft lavender that he recognized all too well. He kept trying to open his eyes, the effort gradually succeeding as his eyes slowly opened though his sight was fuzzy yet he could make out a head of black hair and face resting on his hand.

He slowly opened his mouth before softly whispering "Hey . . ."

The head snapped up before looking at him making him smile weakly as her voice sang out "Dante!"

* * *

If she was crying forcefully before now there was a fully stream pouring out but it wasn't sad, no, it was happy! She didn't even think twice as she pulled him into a hug earning a soft groan but it didn't faze her. She just held him close, her worries and fears dissolving into thin air as he draped his left arm around her.

"I came back," he whispered to her, making her loosen the hug to pull back and look at his smiling face.

"Y-You heard?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice as she looked into his eyes.

"Mostly," he replied as he beamed at her while his left hand moved to cup her cheek, his dragon eyes glowing with their natural splendor of silver accented with shades of red and blue . . .

'_Wait . . . blue!?' _she thought in bewilderment as she looked even closer at his eyes. Some of the tendrils were definitely dark blue rather than their usual red yet she found them even more mesmerizing than they were before.

"I heard what you said," he continued as his thumb traced over her cheek, radiating the usual heat she was used too.

" . . . A-And?" she whispered back, a new fear beginning to bud in her chest. She wasn't sure just how much he had heard and didn't know what his feelings were on it.

He tilted his head to the side for a moment before speaking ". . . and . . ." he said back as he brought his head forward while she leaned down to him, their noses almost touching, " . . . I do too . . ." he whispered before their lips connected in a soft and gentle embrace.

At first Athena was too shocked to react but soon started to move her lips in pattern with his, gently pushing back and forth with a tenderness that she didn't know he was capable of. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, enjoying the closeness and passion of the kiss until she was finally forced to break it, needing to recover her breath.

She looked at him as she lightly panted, a faint blush marking both their faces, while he looked at her in a way she had never seen before. With the new color added to his eyes and the absolute focus he had on her, it made her feel secure and special, that he did fully return her feelings and that wouldn't change. In a moments notice she leaned forward and kissed him again, this time more vigorously and he responded in kind with the occasional nibble on her bottom lip. She then felt his tongue brush against her lip, requesting access which she was all too happy to grant, before they started to wrestle for dominance. It didn't take long for her to secure it, whether because he willingly allowed it or simply was too weak to put up more of a fight didn't matter to her as they continued kissing.

After a while he broke the kiss, leaning back on his pillow as he panted while looking at her with a goofy smile which made her giggle in turn.

"Sorry that I can't put more into it, kinda feel weak," he said even as his goofy smile remained.

"Oh stop it, you did fine. If anything you should be taking it easy," she replied as she scooted her chair closer to the side of his bed so she wouldn't have to lean as much.

"Yes my lady," he said in his funny butler-ish way that always made her stifle a giggle.

"Dummy," she said as she affectionately grabbed his hand with a light squeeze which seemed to make him smile even more.

After a few minutes of silence Dante spoke up, a slightly serious tone marking his voice.

"How long was I out?"

"Just about a week," she answered making Dante slightly frown.

"Doesn't feel like it's been that long . . . I must have been pretty hurt then."

" . . . The doctors weren't even sure if you'd make it," she said with a slight hitch in her voice.

Dante looked at her with a soft smile as he squeezed her hand, "But I did."

"Yeah . . . you did," she said as she used her free hand to brush some of his hair back and out of his eyes. She then focused on his irises, curiosity building as she stared at the new color.

"Hey Dante . . ."

"Hm?"

"Do you know that your eye colored changed a little?"

Dante gave her a questioning look, obviously unaware as to the change. She sighed softly before fishing out her scroll and turning on the front camera so that he could see himself. She held it in front of his face while he examined himself, his expression getting more confused by the second.

" . . . I thought that was just an illusion . . ." he mumbled as he looked at his own eyes.

"What?"

He glanced at her before speaking softly "While I was under, I sort of had some form of dream that I was floating in a void and slowly being consumed. Then I started to see memories of . . ."

He went silent, his hand slightly tightening.

"Saw what?" she persisted.

"The faces of those I've killed . . . and the nightmare the bat showed me."

"What did she show you?" she asked gently, already knowing that it had to have been bad if Dante was being so reluctant.

"All of you guys dead . . . by my hands . . ." he replied, his voice trembling. "I had lost control again . . . mutilated each of you . . ."

She let go of his hand and cupped his face while making him look at her.

"Dante, listen to me. I know you are scared of losing control and hurting us but I know you won't. You have grown so much since then and no you aren't alone. You have your pack, your teammates, and me," she said firmly yet soothingly.

He looked back at her, slowly forming a soft smile even as a single tear leaked out.

"Thank You," he almost whispered to which she responded by giving him another kiss, this time shorter yet passionate, letting him know that she meant every word.

After they broke the kiss she waited a few more seconds before asking "So what happened after the memories?"

" . . . Then there was this voice telling me that I'm a demon and that you all would be better off if I just gave in and let myself die . . ."

She gasped at that but before she could say anything he continued.

"Then I was looking into a mirror and it showed me chained up but with her eyes."

"Her eyes?"

"Alluria's, the vampire bat that attacked me. I think the nightmare and the reason I couldn't heal was some effect of her semblance," he explained.

". . ."

"Then there was this shadow with the voice telling me to give up but then I heard you. I heard you telling me to keep fighting and come back," as he said that he gave her such a sweet smile that she felt her heart flutter and cheeks burn, wanting to kiss him again.

"There was also this blue glow coming from my chest . . ." he said as he suddenly looked down at his chest, the bandages covering everything up to his collar bone.

"Athena, help me get these off," he said as he started moving his left hand toward the bandages, his claws extended to cut through them.

"Ok," she answered as she helped remove some of the bandages, pulling them down so that Dante could have a clear view of whatever he was searching for.

After a few moments the bandages were cleared to reveal a startling sight. The crystal that had fussed to his chest was no longer blue but a very dark shade of silver, forming a vertical slit that was roughly 4 inches long and one inch wide, the veins surrounding it no longer black. From her point of view it looked like a finely formed birthmark matching his scales, not a scar at all.

"Wow," she mumbled as she traced a finger over the crystal, the surface feeling much more like one of his scales rather than her crystals.

"Did you make this?" he asked as he studied it.

"Yes, I used my crystals to seal your wounds while we waited for an emergency transport."

"So that's where it came from then."

"What did?"

"The aura that kick started my own so I could fight off whatever that bat left inside me," he answered as he looked back at her.

"And it affected your eyes too?"

"Looks like it."

"So what does that mean for y—"

She was cut off by the sound of Dante's stomach growling, making him blush slightly.

She giggled as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Ok, we'll figure out the details later. For now let's get you some food and let the others know," she said as she reached for her scroll.

"Wait a minute," he said reaching for her hand, "Just message Lucian and tell him you need 50 lbs. of Grimm meat."

"What? Why?" she asked, perplexed as to why he didn't want the others to know he was up.

"Because I feel like I might pass out and the thought of getting tackle-hugged by Kiara and probably a few of the others as well while I'm like this isn't exactly appealing right now. Lucian will know what the message means and afterwards we can let the others know," he explained as he rested his head back down onto his pillow.

Athena sighed softly as she messaged Lucian before putting her scroll down.

"So are you going to take a nap while we wait then?"

Dante nodded before softly closing his eyes, a content smile tracing his lips.

"Ok then, I'll be right here then," she said affectionately as she gave him another kiss on the forehead before she started to run her hand through his hair, making him start to hum in response.

'_I'll always be right at your side . . .' _she thought as she smiled as well.

* * *

**Author's Rant: About damn time those two got honest about their feelings! Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I did and see you next time!**

**Comment~Favorite~Review!**


	34. Figuring Things Out

**Author's Note: Hey Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in some time, sadly I was unable to do much of anything due to unforseen circumstances but here I am. I hope everyone has been looking forward to the chapters so here you go!**

**PS. Exciting news! I just got added to 'The Best of RWBY Community' as a member and my story can be found there. I highly recommend for you to check it out and follow if you find some interesting stories (It's where I started reading fanfics before getting inspired to write)**

**Also I'd like to thank the readers that have given me feed back and commentary on my recent chapters. They really do help and I really appreciate them!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"How can you eat that much in a single sitting?"

"I could actually eat more."

"I guess the phrase 'wolfing down a meal' isn't just for fun then, huh?"

"Shut it and finish your Ursa steak."

". . ."

Dante took another bite of his steak, relishing in the natural flavor of raw meat Lucian had brought him. It had only taken him an hour to track down a decently sized Ursa, butcher it, and then bring Dante his 50 lbs. of flesh. The dragon had instantly started to dig in, his fangs making quick work of any tough muscles or nerves and now only had a few pounds left to go. It had been a funny delivery though, since Lucian had decided to scale four stories to enter though Dante's window rather than walk through the hospital wing with the meat.

Luckily he had the decency of knocking rather than just barge in. Once he had settled in and Dante started eating, Athena had begun to fill him in on what they had discovered, without going into the part about them kissing (they wanted to keep it private for now). Lucian had been very intrigued with what Athena told him though he had refrained from asking Dante to show him, since he had reverted his eyes to the regular hazel and had retied some of the bandages to cover his chest.

Dante could almost see the gears in the wolf's head turning, trying to understand every detail and possible indication of what Dante's new appearance could mean. '_Can't blame him for being curious . . . it's not like this is a usual thing for faunus' _he thought as he scarfed down the last of the Ursa meat before wiping his mouth with the napkins Lucian had so graciously thought of bringing.

"Satisfied?" the wolf asked.

Dante replied with a content sigh as he flexed both his shoulders. He could feel the energy returning to his body from the food, his muscles and bones repairing all the bite wounds he had gotten. A few strands of hair fell into his view and he could see them returning back to their usual silver. Since his body naturally rejected toxins, he had to bleach his hair before applying several coats of hair dye or else risk being exposed during the mission.

He then glanced at his right shoulder, the injury mostly sealed from the surgery though it was still damaged to the point he couldn't fully make use of his arm. Athena had explained that it had been a blade of Wolves Bane Iron, meaning that his healing had been severely hampered and even now the wound was healing at a slower rate than the rest of his body.

'_How long will it take? A few days? A week?'_ he thought as he clenched his right hand experimentally.

"Wondering how long your shoulder will take?" asked Athena knowingly.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked back as he looked at her.

"Don't worry too much, ok? It just means you'll have to wait around a bit like the rest of us when we're injured," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Anyone else would have kicked the bucket," Lucian added as he leaned back against the window sill.

"True enough," he replied as he tried to lift up his arm. He couldn't get it up more than a few inches before the pain forced him to stop, making him sigh in frustration. For some reason he also couldn't revert his right hand back into the human form, his silver claws and fully armored hand staying exposed.

"Well, I guess we should let everyone else know, don't you guys think?" he asked as he looked at them.

Athena nodded and was about to reach for her scroll but then Lucian spoke up "Not yet."

Dante and Athena looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to explain.

"First I need to see these changes," Lucian said.

"Why so urgent?" he asked.

"We don't know how these changes have affected you in other ways aside from your eyes and the chest piece. I would rather get a quick read on them now rather than get surprised later on," Lucian explained.

"Makes sense I guess," Athena added.

"Fine then," he agreed before taking a quick breath and slowly exhaling, his eyes shifting to their true form.

He then looked at Lucian, the latter leaning in as he carefully studied his eyes, his wolf ears twitching frequently as a sign that he was heavily in thought.

"Interesting . . . it's almost as if . . . hmm," Lucian muttered as he straightened back up before glancing at Athena and then looking back at him. "Let me see your chest then."

Dante did as asked, his own curiosity growing as Lucian leaned forward again to look at the now silver crystal imbedded in his chest. Suddenly he extended his hand with one claw exposed, lightly slashing at the crystal making Dante and Athena both jump. The claw bounced off harmlessly without leaving a scratch though Dante could feel the actual weight of the hit.

"What was that for!?" Dante nearly shouted, '_Is he trying to keep me here longer?'_

"Testing something," Lucian replied as he looked at Athena. "Can you form another crystal of a similar size?"

Athena looked perplexed as to why but did so anyway, momentarily flaring her aura to form a crystal roughly the same size as the crystal in Dante's chest. She then handed it to Lucian before he tossed it in the air and slashed at it, the crystal shattering on impact and dissolving into thin air.

"Ok, what was that for then?" Dante asked.

"That crystal in your chest must be as tough as your scales now," Lucian said without really answering Dante. "Hey Dante, you can make fires with your aura, right?"

"Um, not exactly," he replied.

"But didn't you make a small silver fire with your finger back at the bar?"

"Well yes, but that only works if I condense my aura into one small point. If I try to focus it to, say the size of a golf ball, my aura's nature will make it highly explosive and I can't really just dissipate it, I have to use it. That's why I simply superheat my body instead since it's the closest thing to my semblance without actually activating it," he explained. "Why do you want me making a fire anyway?"

"Because it lets us get a clear view of your aura since I don't think you are in any condition to fully flare up your aura long enough for me to examine it," Lucian responded.

"Well sorry but I can't just coat my hand in fire . . ." he waved his left hand up to exaggerate the comment until his hand suddenly burst into flames. ". . . at … will …"

He stared at his hand, dumbstruck, as a silver fire with a blue hue coated his hand up to his wrist, freely flickering and shifting like any ordinary fire.

"Wow," Athena commented as she watched the flames dance across his palm.

"That's not the only thing," added Lucian as he pointed at Dante's chest.

He looked down to see that the crystal was faintly glowing blue now, as if a small fire was lit on the inside. '_Ok, this is really weird'_ he thought as he refocused on his hand. It didn't really feel any different from how it did when he wanted to heat it up so he simply stopped thinking about it and the flame snuffed out in a second, without any markings being left. He then thought of igniting his hand again, the flames springing back into existence with the silver and blue colors.

"Cool," he said as he repeatedly turned it on and off until Athena cleared her throat.

"Focus," she muttered as she looked at Lucian.

Dante turned his attention to Lucian as well, the latter now sitting in one of the chairs with a heavy air around him. The partners waited in silence as the wolf kept thinking, his intense gaze making Dante feel slightly uncomfortable.

After a few minutes Lucian broke the silence, "I have a theory for what happened."

"What do you got?" asked Dante.

"Well . . ." Lucian started as he leaned forward in his chair, ". . . If I go by what I know about dragons, your breed is known for having massive aura and vitality. In a sense you can adapt to any condition allowing for the saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' to be a literal truth. If that is the case then that means your body took whatever means it could to survive the poisoning."

"…"

"Now, your aura was probably severely weakened due to fighting while under the effects of poison, whatever the bat's semblance did to you, and extreme blood loss so your body went into a coma like recovery state. While in this state your body tried to make use of any aura reserves left and since Athena's crystal are formed out of aura, it absorbed it. That is why the crystal fused to your body, you were trying to absorb it and ended up simply integrating it into your chest."

"Ok, that explains the crystal in my chest but not my eyes or the fire," Dante said.

"I'm getting to it," Lucian replied.

"While absorbing the aura, you seemed to have also taken in some of the properties of that aura. Namely the coloration which explains your eyes and the fact that the fire had blue streaks in it rather than red. As for the fire, that is a little more complicated."

"What do you mean?" Athena asked.

"Ok, Dante's semblance is in a way an advanced form of internal aura control. The aura can freely flow through your body at will allowing for you to augment your abilities such as strength and speed with the superheating as an after-effect. Whenever your aura exits your body though, it becomes highly explosive which is why you simply maintain it within your body with the steam as a marker of sorts. Athena's semblance on the other hand is external, channeling her aura through her body but then activating outside her skin to form her crystals,"

"…"

"If we assume you absorbed some of those characteristics, then that means that your body can now focus your aura externally without running the risk of exploding. That fire must also be the new marker of your aura, so the same way your body begins to steam heavily as more aura gets focused, the fire's size and intensity indicates the level of aura," Lucian finished.

Dante stayed silent for a moment, letting Lucian's theory sink in as he studied his own hand. '_If he is right and now I can freely use my aura without the worry of it blowing up, then I can use it to help my team without the risk of seriously harming them. I wonder if it also changed . . . that attack too . . .'_ he thought as he absentmindedly rubbed his throat.

"By the way," Lucian started regaining Dante and Athena's attention. "There is something else I want to test out."

"What?" asked Athena.

"Can you form another crystal, a smaller one this time?" Lucian requested.

"Sure," she responded as she quickly formed another crystal roughly the size and shape of a golf ball.

Once done, she handed it to Lucian and then he turned to Dante, "Hold your hand out, palm up."

Dante did as asked before Lucian placed the crystal on his hand.

"Ignite your hand again but with a smaller fire," he instructed.

Dante complied, starting a small fire just within his palm this time so that it coated over the crystal. They all watched in fascination as the crystal started to slowly soak up some of the flames, steadily growing in size as its shape became disfigured and it gained silver streaks along the surface. Dante killed the fire once the crystal reached the size of a soft ball.

"Interesting . . ." Lucian muttered for a moment before saying, "Now make another fire but bigger and more intense."

Dante did so, the fire roaring to life as it covered up to his wrist, swallowing the crystal in silver and blue. After a moment the crystal began to crack before shattered apart and dissolved.

"What happened there?" Athena asked as she leaned closer to inspect Dante's hand.

"Just as I thought," Lucian began. "Since Dante has absorbed some of your aura and merged with it, it is now possible for his aura to affect your crystals."

Dante and Athena looked at Lucian as if he had spoken in another language.

"The crystal growing is proof of it. Dante's fires can be used as an alternate power source to grow your crystal though it doesn't seem like he can dictate the shape formed," Lucian continued. "At least not without some more practice anyway. It also seems that since the intensity and quantity of his aura is significantly higher than yours, he has to lower his output or risk simply overloading the crystal and causing it to shatter."

" . . . Well that could be useful," Athena commented as she looked back at Dante.

"Looks like you and I will be spending quite some time alone to practice then . . ." Dante agreed with a suggestive wink. It had the desired effect as Athena began to lightly blush before she flicked him on the forehead.

"Dummy . . ." she muttered as she glanced at Lucian, who seemed to still be entrenched in his own thoughts to notice the partners, and gave Dante a small smile which he couldn't help return.

"So Lucian," he called to snap the wolf out of his thoughts, "Are we clear to let everyone know I'm ok now?"

The wolf nodded so Athena got on her scroll and typed a quick message out.

"There, the others should be here shortly," she said as she put away her scroll and then stood up to walk around to Dante's right side, away from the door.

'_Hehe . . . I wonder how the others will react to the new look?'_

* * *

"Stay focused miss Belladonna!"

"What?" she mumbled before she noticed a mace headed straight for her face.

She narrowly dodged the weapon as it crashed into the ground she had just been standing on. She stood back up from her landing spot, having jumped to the side on reflex, looking at her attacker with irritation.

"Careful now, wouldn't want to mess up that pretty face," Cardin said mockingly as he raised his mace again, fully intending on bruising her up as much as possible.

'_Of all people, why did I have to spar against him?'_ she thought angrily as she raised up her ninjato and bladed sheath.

They were currently in combat class with Mrs. Goodwitch, the day's focus being one-on-one sparring matches to get a sense of how students ranked in comparison to each other. So far a few of her friends had already had their matches, Yang and Ren each flooring their opponent in a minute or so. Next had been her vs Cardin, the latter walking up to the arena with a smug and confident air. Just seeing him in-between classes was an annoyance but now she actually had to deal with him and normally it wouldn't bother her much but her mind was somewhere else.

She and Velvet had been particularly distracted this past week, visiting the hospital wing frequently to check on Dante's condition. Though Dante had survived the first night, hearing about his condition had taken a large toll on her and Velvet. If it hadn't been for Athena's console and support, she didn't know what could have happened to them. She remembered how comforting it felt to have Athena beside them, making her feel the safest she has ever near a human.

She was so entrenched in her thoughts that she didn't notice the mace slamming into her left side until it was too late, the impact sending her sprawling across the floor as they flew out of her hands.

"Blake!" her teammates shouted in concern as she slowly stood back up, her hand clutching at her bruised side.

"Oops, did that hurt?" asked Cardin in mock worry as he began to stalk forward with a gleeful look in his eyes.

She glanced up at the display, her aura showing to be in the yellow while Cardin was still in the green. '_Can't keep getting distracted like that!' _she mentally scolded herself as she lowered her stance, calculating the best way to retrieve her weapons since Cardin was now closer to her than they were.

She momentarily glanced to the side of the arena, looking over the two Slayers standing behind Goodwitch. It was Havasu and Crato, Crato being the regular for this class while Havasu had decided to watch since he didn't have any tasks for the morning. Strangely enough, Lucian being the other regular, had gotten some message and left before the class had even officially started, leaving both Goodwitch and some of the students rather confused since he didn't explain as to why he had to go.

Now as she looked at them she noticed both pull out their scrolls and read something before looking at each other, Crato mouthing one very clear word 'Dante' before he approached Glynda and asking for them to be excused to leave.

Blake's body tensed up as stared at them, no longer wanting to continue this match and head straight for the hospital room herself. She then saw Havasu point at her and her friends while continuing to whisper to Glynda, apparently trying to get them excused as well. She could feel her heart starting to race, worry building up as she wondered what had happened.

"Ahh what's wrong? Worried about your precious faunus-lover?" Cardin taunted once he caught her stare.

It was known that Dante was injured and though most of the students respected the Slayers, ever since they were humiliated in the cafeteria, Cardin and his team had used any chance they got to badmouth them whenever they could. Cardin's favored insult was calling Dante a faunus-lover since he spent a good portion of his time with Velvet and was very protective of her in general. Normally she would heed Dante's instructions and ignore the giant oaf but now, while Dante is hospitalized and possibly in a worsening condition, she would give no mercy.

She glared at Cardin, her knuckles turning white as she clenched them.

"Oh, struck a nerve did I?" he continued to mock as he got closer, his mace hoisted to the side as he prepared to attack again.

She didn't answer as she maintained her glare, waiting for him to attack. He did, rushing forward with another swing at her already bruised side but didn't count on her lashing out with a kick at his wrist, jarring his entire arm back while his weapon clattered out of his hand. Before he could even react, she reached out with her right hand and grabbed on to his jaw, lifting him up, clean off the ground. He looked at her in shock as his feet dangled a few inches off the ground, surprise that she could lift his 200 lb. body and extra 100 lbs. of armor so easily.

It was clear the strenuous training exacted by the Slayers was effective, all of the trainees showing significant increases in strength and stamina by the third week of training. Blake looked into Cardin's eyes for a moment, a smirk marking her lips, before she twisted on her heel and brought Cardin's body over her shoulder and smashed him face first into the stone floor. The arena became deathly quiet as everyone stared at the sight, Cardin lying limp at Blake's feet while she looked at Glynda, waiting for her to call the match.

"W-Winner . . . Blake Belladonna," Goodwitch stammered while Blake recollected her weapons, jogged off the arena and quickly grouped up with her team and friends.

"Wow Blake . . . that was impressive," commented Yang as she glanced at the arena, Cardin still planted in the floor though they could see he was breathing . . . kind of anyways.

"You mean awesome!" added Nora.

"Brash but very effective," said Weiss.

"Thanks," Blake said quickly before turning her attention to the approaching Slayers.

As soon as they got close enough she asked, "Is something wrong with Dante?"

The others quieted down, waiting for a reply.

"Not sure, all we got was come to the hospital wing," Havasu answered.

Blake did even wait for him to finish the sentence, already moving swiftly towards the arena doors and turning straight for the hospital wing, her team and friends close behind. They moved as quickly as they could without flat out running, weaving through any students that happened to be in the way. Once the building serving as the hospital wing was in sight, their group was joined by Velvet, Kiara, and Thantos, all of whom had just converged on the spot moments before.

Now as one collective group, they made their way up to Dante's room, the majority silent since they didn't know what kind of news was waiting for them. The last door soon came into view, the group slowing down until they stopped just outside, Kiara being the one to open the door after a few moments of hesitation. For a few seconds she stayed still as she looked into the room, Blake only being able to see her back as she blocked up the opening before she took as sharp breath and dashed in, Blake and Velvet following on her heels.

Once inside, Blake stopped, unsure as to whether she could believe her eyes. There was Kiara, crying and hugging onto Dante as he pulled his arm around her with his chin over her head, his eyes closed as he whispered softly to her.

" . . . Dante . . ." said Blake, somewhat still in disbelief that her alpha sat before her, awake and alive.

At the call of his name he opened his eyes to look directly at her, his eyes full of a softness Blake couldn't remember ever seeing, before he gave her a warm smile.

"Hey," he said softly. As the single word reached her ears, she felt a tear trail down her cheek, then followed by another, until her vision was blurry but she didn't care as she raced forward to hug him as well.

She felt as if a crushing weight had been lifted off her shoulders as she buried her face in his shoulder, his cheek resting beside her cat ears as a familiar warmth radiated off him. He soon maneuvered his arm so that he could hug her as well, his embrace bringing a sense of comfort and security that she had feared she would lose. All that she could feel now was relief and happiness, her tears being those of joy. . .

* * *

"So how are you feeling now?" asked Velvet.

"Aside from nearly being suffocated from hugs? Pretty good," Dante answered light heartedly.

"Sorry," Kiara and Blake said in unison, their cheeks rosy from slight embarrassment.

"Don't be, it was fine," he answered reassuringly.

"But we could have ended up hurting you more," replied Kiara as her ears flattened down.

"Hey, I've been healing just fine," Dante said.

"So then there aren't any lasting effects at all?" Weiss asked suddenly making Dante fall silent for a moment.

He looked over those gathered, his fellow Slayers save Lucian who had gone back to the dorm to pick up some things Dante had asked for, teams RWBY and JNPR, and Velvet. Once everyone had arrived, he had stayed mostly silent as he waited for some of them to get their emotions out, having bottled up their worries and concern for his health. After everyone calmed down and settled on a spot to sit or stand, though Havasu and Crato had brought in a few extra chairs from some empty rooms, he had made due with some light conversation to relax the atmosphere while he waited for Lucian to get back to help him explain the changes.

'_Sure is taking his sweet ass time though . . .' _he thought before he took a small breath, mentally preparing for the long and possibly confusing conversation he was about to have. He could already could tell that he would have to explain his arm since it was exposed for all to see, this being the first time most of the students had ever seen his claws and armored knuckle.

He glanced for a moment at Athena, wondering whether she would want to start it. She took the hint and cleared her throat to get attention on her before saying, "There are some . . . effects. Whether they are permanent or temporary is still up in the air."

Dante picked it up from there.

"Some are small and others are more . . . significant."

"Such as?" asked Thantos as he leaned against the far wall.

"Well for one, since it was a blade made with silver dust that pierced my shoulder," he pointed with his hand to emphasize, ". . . it seems that the recovery will take longer than usual, at least for me anyways."

"So your right arm is a dud?" asked Yang as she glanced at his clawed hand.

"Not exactly. I can close my hand just fine but I can't lift up my arm more than a few inches and can't retract my claws for some reason," he explained.

"Ok and what else is there?" asked Crato in his usually blunt though not uncaring matter.

"Yeah, those are a little harder to explain," he muttered back as he sat up.

"Are you sure you should be moving?" asked a worried Velvet but he gave her a quick smile before focusing on the bandages covering his chest.

He started to undo them, slowly removing the layers until his chest was fully exposed and everyone had a clear view of the silver crystal fused into his chest. 'Wow' some of them mumbled as they leaned in to get a better view of the oddity.

"Havasu, you remember how the doctors said they couldn't remove the crystal I made to cover his wound, right?" Athena asked to which he nodded.

"Well, as it turns out, Dante seems to have integrated it into his body and absorbed my aura within it."

"And now it's like one of my scales," Dante added.

"How so?" asked Kiara as she studied it.

"Lucian tried to claw at but his claw just bounced off without a scratch," he replied to which Kiara raised an eyebrow.

"So . . . is that all that happened to it?" asked Ruby with a perplexed look.

"It caused some changes to my body and aura," Dante answered, the group returning their attention to him.

With all eyes on him, he took a breath before slowly exhaling as his eyes shifted to their natural state. They looked at him with wide eyes, their attention locked on his eyes and their new coloration.

"So it also gave your eyes a new color. Not exactly what I would call 'hard to explain' though," commented Crato.

"That's not all," replied Athena as she locked eyes with Dante. "Show them."

"Show us what?" asked Nora excitedly.

Dante sighed as he brought his hand up, palm facing up, before he willed it to ignite. In a moment silver and blue flames sprang to life, freely dancing across his palm in a dazzling display. If they had been surprised by his eyes before, now they were completely blindsided by the sudden appearance of the flames, judging by how their jaws dropped at the sight. He kept the fire alight for a few more seconds before allowing it to die out.

Then Athena resumed speaking, "It seems that by absorbing my aura, Dante has also taken in some of its properties and adjusted them to his own aura. Now he can allow his aura to coat his body externally instead of focusing it internally. The fire is also a new marker rather than the usual steam that radiates off him when he flares his aura."

"That's cool," mumbled Ruby as she continued to stare at Dante's hand, probably imagining it still lit.

"And there is another little thing," Dante said.

"There's more?" asked Jaune in a surprised manner.

"Yep," he quipped as he glanced at Athena for a moment, ". . . but I'll tell you guys later."

"What? Why?" asked Nora and Ruby in unison while some of the others gave him annoyed frowns.

"Because it will be a fun surprise," he answered with a toothy grin.

"Aww, come on! Tell us," Ruby nearly begged but Dante remained impassive.

He was about to keep teasing the little brunette but was interrupted by the sound of the hospital room door opening, a familiar wolf walking in with a small box under his arm.

"Yo," Lucian said as he casually walked over to the bed and deposited the box on Dante's lap.

"Thanks," Dante said as he opened up the lid and started to rummage through a few things in the box, mostly some clothes. He knew that the doctors would probably want to run some tests before they even thought of letting him leave so he had asked for Lucian to bring him a few things to pass the time such as his iPod, his sketch pad, and a change of clothes for when they let him out.

"Hey Dante," Lucian called.

"Hmm?" he replied as he pulled out one of the shirts Lucian had picked out, a simple red t-shirt.

"So I happened to run into Ozpin and he said he will be stopping by later and I informed one of the nurses that you had awakened but that you were still tired so for now so they might give you some time before they come around later today or tomorrow," Lucian continued as he stepped back a few paces to give him some space.

"Yay . . ." he replied sarcastically. He knew it would be just a polite formality before Ozpin requested a full and detailed report of what had transpired that night. He could already feel the headache coming.

"And there is something else that I think you need to handle," Lucian said with an odd tone.

"What?" he asked as he turned his attention away from the box.

"Umm . . . here," Lucian replied as he fished out a scroll and handed it to Dante.

Dante took it, realizing that it was his, and opened it up. The screen was dark for a few seconds before it displayed the usual menu and background, a picture of team RWBY plus Velvet smiling up at the camera with part of Yang's outstretched arm in the corner since she had taken the picture. He had taken the girls with Athena to train in the forest one weekend and while he had been discussing some training plans with Athena, Yang had nicked his scroll and taken the picture.

He smiled to himself for a moment before he noticed one particular icon blinking repeatedly. It was for messages. He tapped on the icon, the screen then shifting to its message page with the names of several contact names beside their respective messages. He counted nearly 15 messages, all from one person. '_Amber . . .'_ he thought as he remembered the conversation he'd had with her a few days before the mission.

It hadn't gone well . . . She had been upset that he had been distant in past few weeks and evasive since he couldn't even tell her why he couldn't come and see her that weekend. He had resorted with telling her that he would explain later and cut the call before it could escalate into an argument. He sighed in slight irritation as he opened the most recent message, apparently being from yesterday, and read it.

'Dante . . . I don't know why you cut me off on our last call and you haven't answered since but I'm not leaving things like this. I'm coming up to Beacon to see you and talk to see why you suddenly got so quiet. I'll be there tomorrow around noon, Amber'

His eyes widened as he read the last line before he looked up to the curious stares of his friends. He then turned his attention to a clock mounted on the far wall, the time being 11:35 am.

"Shit," he muttered as he started to redo the bandages around his chest.

"Dante, what's wrong?" Athena asked in concern.

"Give me a sec," he replied as he finished up the last of the bandages before turning his attention to his right forearm, his claws and scales still exposed.

He looked into the box on his lap and spotted just what he needed. He quickly grabbed one of the wraps Lucian had packed for him and started to tie it around his right hand before he heard some knocking on the door. He shifted his eyes back to their human form while pulling his sheets over his arm up to the elbow as he looked at the opening door. A small, blonde nurse poked her head in the door and looked straight at him before saying sweetly, "Sir, you have a visitor."

She then stepped aside to allow another girl in, this one a familiar brunette with almond eyes. She walked in wearing some jeans, a cream colored shirt, and a light windbreaker, her hair falling in its usual curls. She locked eyes with him for a moment before a small tear ran down her cheek and she ran forward, pulling him into a hug before he could even say anything.

The others watched in surprised silence as the small girl maintained the hug while Dante just looked at the far wall, avoiding meeting anyone's gaze. He waited for few seconds before softly speaking.

"Hey . . . Amber."

* * *

**Author's Rant: Oh yeah, this is gonna be good . . . I hope**

**Comments~Feedback on this chapter greatly appreciated! Hope everyone enjoyed!**


	35. On the Spot

**Author's Note: Hello everyone, hope I haven't kept you waiting too long, been rather busy. Enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

The room felt tense as all eyes remained trained on him. He could feel their gazes but he kept his on the wall, waiting for the brunette to release her hug. Though it took her nearly a minute before she finally let go, it felt like hours to Dante. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her wiping away the last of some tears as she looked at him with sad eyes. He didn't look at her, he couldn't, not with so many others present. He took his eyes off the wall and glanced at Lucian, hoping that he would understand the situation.

The wolf stared back for a few seconds before he subtly nodded and then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. As he did so, it seemed that Amber just noticed that they weren't alone, looking at his teammates and mentees with a mix of curiosity and surprise. Though he wasn't looking directly at her, he could make out some of her facial expressions as she passed over the group while Lucian began to speak.

"Ok everyone, I think we need to head out for a while," he instructed earning some confused looks.

It seemed that his fellow Slayers had picked up on the situation faster than the mentees and started to move while nudging some of the younger students out before any of them could protest. As the students filed, out Dante noticed that Amber seemed to almost stiffen when Blake, Velvet, or Kiara passed by, Kiara giving a slightly aggressive gaze back at Amber as she left. Soon all that remained was Athena and Lucian, both standing beside the door and looking at Dante.

"I'll get most of them back to class so rest easy," Lucian said as he began to step out while giving one last glance to Amber before heading out. She in turn looked back, her eyes carrying a familiar emotion that he had seen before, distrust. Why the look Dante wasn't sure but it began to irritate him.

Then there remained Athena, her gaze locked with Dante's for a few moments. He wanted to say something to her before she headed out but didn't trust himself to speak while Amber was there. It looked like Athena understood as she softly nodded before turning around and stepping out the door. Just before she closed the door Dante heard her whisper, too softly for a human to catch but not him.

"I'll be just down the hall if you need me . . ."

Then she was gone, closing the door and leaving the two occupants alone in silence. He looked down at his lap, unsure of how to start. He waited about a minute or so before finally looking up at Amber, the latter intently looking at him as she studied his bandaged body. After she seemed satisfied she locked eyes with him for a moment before speaking.

"Hey," she started in a low voice.

"Hey," he replied just as softly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I've been better," he replied lamely.

"Seems like it . . . how long have you been in the hospital?"

"About a week, most of that time spent in a coma though."

Amber paled at hearing that, worry clearly showing on her face.

"But I'm more or less fine now," he added to calm her.

"That's good to hear," she replied as she stepped closer and took a seat beside him.

He looked at her, not sure what else to say so he went with something he was wondering.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

Amber seemed surprised at the question, seemingly trying to form a proper explanation.

"Well . . ." she started somewhat nervously, ". . . since you hadn't answered any of my messages, I decided to come up and speak with you in person. So I looked into how I could come up to Beacon. As it turns out you can call and request a visitors pass for a day or so. Once I called all I needed to do was mention your name and I was granted the pass allowing me to visit for a day or two of my choosing," she finished as she fished out her scroll and showed Dante a display of a pass with her picture, name, and date of use.

'_And no one tried to notify me? Just what kind of system are they running around here?' _he thought as he returned his attention to Amber's face.

"So, about not answering your mess—"

"I'm not angry about that," she interrupted. "I was worried more than anything. Sure, the way our last talk went left me upset but that isn't as important now."

"Even then, I still wanted to talk to you about it."

It was true, ever since he'd had the talk with Lucian, Dante had been more or less decided on breaking up with Amber. He knew whatever feelings he might have had at one point were no longer there and she would be better off without him. But then all the business and preparation with the mission had overtaken his time, forcing him to postpone meeting with her. Then everything with the mission and his coma happened, along with him realizing how he truly felt about Athena.

Even though Lucian's words had helped, he had still doubted himself. He didn't want risk hurting her feelings if it turned out he was just infatuated but after hearing her voice, after feeling her soft lips against his, he didn't have a shadow of a doubt that he loved her. That he wanted to remain by her side regardless of what was to come. '_I need to do this . . . it's not fair to lie to her' _he thought as he prepared himself.

He took a deep breath before beginning to speak, "Amber . . ."

"Hmm?"

"I . . . we need . . ."

"What is it?" Amber asked nervously as she leaned closer from her seat. "Dante, please just try to relax for now. Whatever it is can wait until later," she said as she went for a small kiss.

Just before their lips could meet Dante tilted his face away, her lips landing just beside his lips as her eyes flared open in shock before she backed up slightly.

". . . We need to break up."

" . . ."

There was nothing but silence as they looked at each other. She stared at him with a mix of shock and confusion while he remained nearly expressionless as he looked back. Seeing her look so taken aback and almost hurt really didn't make it any easier but he knew it had to be done.

" . . . W-What?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"We need to break up," he repeated, this time with an almost cold tone in his voice.

"But . . . But why?" she asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

He huffed in frustration as he looked away. He really didn't want to go into any specifics, hoping to make this as quick as possible but it no longer seemed like a viable option.

"Because . . ." he was about to start explaining but then she surprised him with her own angry words.

"Is it because of one of those faunus?" she asked with unmasked hostility.

His mind went blank for a moment as he tried to understand where that came from.

"What?" he asked in an even tone, even as his anger began to build.

"Is it because you fell for one of those faunus girls?" she asked brazenly.

"Why would you think that?" he asked, unsure as to how or why she had made that connection.

"When I arrived, I walked up to the front statue while I waited for someone from the staff to meet with me and show me to your dorm. While I was there some students were talking about how one of the other students hurt them for saying the truth about an injured 'Slayer'. Then I heard them comment how the Slayer they had mentioned deserved it since he is a faunus lover."

"Who were the students?" he asked though he had a pretty good idea of just who those students were.

"I don't know, they left when one of the professors appeared and why does it matter? Were they right? Are you a faunus lover?" Amber asked angrily as she stood up from her seat.

Dante clenched his fist as he stared at her, making her take a small step back.

"And if I am? What then?" he retorted, anger now marking his voice.

". . . So . . . it is true then . . . you really are chasing after one of those girls" she said as she looked away for a moment.

"Actually no, that isn't correct," he said making her look at him again. "I do care immensely for those girls but that is it. I don't have that sort of interest in them but that is beside the point. What I want to know is why is it that you care that they are faunus. I saw the way you looked at one of my friends."

Amber looked away again, her own hands clenched as she spoke. "It's not that I have anything personal against the faunus . . . its only that I don't trust them."

"Why?" he asked lowly.

"Because," she replied as she turned back to face him. "How can anyone trust someone who is more animal than human? All they do is steal, cheat, and lie! Not to mention that having those weird tails and ears just isn't right. I've even seen some of them that have animal eyes and teeth, just like wild animals."

Dante could feel his claws stab into his own palm under the sheet, his anger making part of his frame tremble.

"Is that all they are to you? Beasts that can't be trusted? Is that what you truly think of us?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"What? What do you mean by 'us'?" she asked.

"Because I'm a faunus too!" he shouted back as he yanked the sheet off his right arm, exposing his clawed hand.

He watched as her expression went from shock at his shout to another that he recognized all too well. Disgust. He had seen it more times than he cared to remember, each time his identity was revealed. He hated that look, the way it seemed to degrade him, judge him as something horrible and unwelcome . . .

"Y-you . . . are a faunus too?" she asked in almost a whisper as she took several steps back until she was nearly against the far wall. "I . . . I was with . . . a faunus."

He could see her begin to pale, seemingly recollecting the moments they had been together. She then briefly touched her lips before grimacing, as if something sour was in her mouth before she stared accusingly at him.

"You tricked me into thinking you were human . . . you lied to me!" she shouted back.

He was about to reply but then the door opened, a familiar set of sapphire eyes locking with his as his partner walked across the room to stand beside his bed before turning to stare down Amber.

"If you intend to insult him or any of our faunus friends then you are going to have to answer to me," Athena said firmly.

"And just who the hell are you?" asked Amber crossly.

"I'm his partner," Athena replied without missing a beat.

Amber stared back for some time, her gaze showing disgust whenever she glanced at him.

"So I take it you are another faunus-lover?" Amber asked.

"Yes I am," Athena replied almost happily, unlike the angry glare she was maintaining.

"So then you are happy having that disgusting beas—"

She didn't even get to finish the word as Athena dashed forward and in the blink of an eye, drove her fist into the wall right beside Amber's head, all the while giving Amber a glare that Dante was pretty sure should have been able to kill.

Amber stood rigid for a moment before she glanced to her side, her eyes trailing over the small crater left by Athena's fist.

"I said that if you insulted him then you would answer to me," Athena said coldly. "Now get lost before I decide to spare the wall."

Amber's eyes shifted from shock to fear as she took a few steps around Athena before turning on her heel and darting out of the room leaving Dante and Athena alone. They stayed silent for a moment, Dante still trying to register everything that happened within the last few moments. He glanced at Athena, trying to get a read on what she was thinking but she had a pretty good poker face as she stared at the door left ajar.

She then walked towards it and softly closed it before finally turning to look at Dante. She looked slightly sad as she walked closer before taking a seat beside him and reaching for his left hand with hers. Once together, she gently squeezed his hand, a small gesture to let him know that she was there for him.

"I'm sorry I barged in like that," she said softly as she looked into his eyes.

"It's ok. Things would have probably gotten ugly if you hadn't," he replied as he squeezed her hand back. "And more importantly, I'm glad that you are here right now with me."

Athena gave him small smile before she spoke, "You aren't by the way."

"What?" he asked, unsure as to what she was referring to.

"What Amber said. You aren't a beast and you aren't disgusting," she said soothingly.

"Hey, as long as you don't think of me like that, I don't care what anyone else has to say about it," he replied as he let go of her hand and cupped her cheek, slowly running his thumb over the soft skin.

Athena's smile grew as she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, finding comfort in the contact. They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying the silence together until Dante decided to be a little mischievous.

"So Athena," he said in a teasing voice to get her attention, "I heard you are a faunus-lover."

Athena raised an eyebrow at him as she straightened up a little.

"Maybe," she retorted in a teasing fashion herself.

"So . . ." he started as he leaned forward to get their faces closer, "Do you want to make that title official?"

Athena leaned even closer, their noses just touching as she looked back at him. "I don't know . . . are there any catches I need to know about?"

"You get a free heater that comes with an awesome sense of humor and a devilish grin," he replied.

"Mmm . . . I don't know. I sounds like a handful," she said in a low voice before giving him a sultry gaze. "Is there anything else to sweeten the deal?"

"Just this," he said before he closed the last inch between their faces, kissing her again with slow and deliberate motion.

As they kissed her felt her begin to lightly nibble his lower lip which he returned in kind but with a little more pressure, turning it into a playful bite. As he did so Athena let out a very soft yet sensual moan as her lips moved more vigorously against his, demanding more. They went back in forth for some time, neither wanting to relent yet they had to, their lungs requesting more oxygen before they could continue.

As they both lightly panted Dante looked into her eyes, those blue sapphires looking back at him with love and warmth as she smiled at him. After a moment she leaned forward again but this time she simply rested her forehead against his as she cupped his cheeks with both of her hands.

He closed his eyes as he took in her presence. Her smell, the rhythm of her heartbeat, the feeling of her breath brushing over his lips, the taste lingering in his mouth. He felt himself relax and for the first time he noticed that his chest grew warmer whenever she was close. It was as if the crystal in his chest could tell when she was close, relishing in her presence.

"I love you," he whispered out as he opened his eyes before shifting them to their draconic form, his chest seemingly pulsing with every word.

"I love you too," she replied softly, her aura glowing brighter and more radiantly as she spoke.

"Hehe . . . this day really has been full of surprises," he chuckled as he rested his head back down on his pillow while Athena sat straight in her chair.

"Most of them good though," Athena added with a small smile.

"Very true."

"So what do you want to do now?"

"I'm not sure. Honestly I just want to get out of here and back to my own bed but I'm pretty sure I'll have to wait for the doctors to let me go, not to mention Lucian said Ozpin would come around soon."

"Well then we got some time to kill. Want me to g—"

She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, a familiar figure with mug in hand stepping in.

"Speak of the devil," Dante muttered as he met Ozpin's near emotionless gaze.

"Hello Professor," greets Athena to which Ozpin simply nods.

"Hello Athena, Dante," Ozpin says as he walks up to the side of Dante's bed. "How are you feeling Dante?"

"Well enough."

"That's good to hear, now, I assume you know why I'm here aside from simply checking on you, correct?"

Dante nodded, his expression becoming serious as he adjusted himself to sit up properly so they could begin the debriefing. Ozpin started with wanting a report of the operation, especially details concerning Dante's engagement against the bat faunus. Dante could see Ozpin's expression grow with concern, the news of an unknown and likely powerful party having influence with the Atlas Council being significantly worrisome. Once Dante concluded his report, they sat in silence for some time as Ozpin seemed to collect his thoughts, at least until Athena spoke up anyways.

"Professor," she started, her voice sounding firm and even. "Due to Dante's condition and our teams concern of his state I have withheld from asking but now that our leader is conscious and present again, I need to ask. Why is it that we were not informed of children being kidnapped?"

Dante's eyes flared up at that, suddenly recollecting what Glacewall had shouted in his moment of panic. His gaze rested on Ozpin, waiting for an answer. Ozpin tapped his chin in thought before answering, "Because, although we did have reports of recent kidnappings, we lacked evidence to link those kidnappings to the recent activity in the Razorback Mountains. We did not want to create false leads so we refrained from providing all the details until we could confirm it with direct interrogation."

"So now that Glacewall confirmed it, will you give us a full report on the Razorback mountains?" Dante asked.

"Yes, once you are cleared for discharge from the hospital, Nyx will supply you with the full array of details currently known. From there we will begin planning another mission, this time to the Razorback Mountains," Ozpin confirmed.

"So will it be a search and rescue mission?" Athena asked as she leaned forward anxiously.

"That remains to be seen . . . if the snake provides any more information regarding the area, rescue may become a second priority," Ozpin answered.

Athena didn't seem too pleased with his answer but remained silent nonetheless. Dante gave her a concerned glance but returned his attention to Ozpin, some questions coming to mind.

"Ozpin, what snake are you talking about?"

"Oh that's correct, you weren't informed yet. The snake faunus that attacked the school was captured during the operation by Lucian. We've had her under near constant questioning but so far have gained little more than small confirmations on what we already know. She seems adamant on staying silent in regards to her mistress or details of the Razorback operation," Ozpin replied.

"Who has been performing the interrogations?" he asked.

"Usually one of your fellow Slayers, mainly Thantos or Lucian."

"Then I guess I'll have to pay her a visit," Dante muttered angrily.

He glanced at Athena's wrist, finally being able to place the pale marks lining it. He had avoided asking what they were before, chalking it up to old scars he hadn't noticed before but now that he got a good look at them he could tell they were bite marks. Snake bite marks to be exact.

He felt his blood boil at the thought of anyone laying a finger on Athena, wanting to get ahold of the snake and teach her what happens to those that threaten his loved ones. He could feel his fangs begin to elongate as a low growl escaped his throat but then Athena grabbed his hand in hers.

He looked at her in surprise but she just gave him sweet smile, his anger dissipating as he stared into her eyes.

"It's ok," she said soothingly, "I almost completely healed so don't worry about it."

He looked at her for a few more moments before taking a deep breath and exhaling upwards. He was slightly surprised when he saw a column of heat tinted blue and silver escaped his jaw, reaching almost a foot in distance before dissipating. He then glanced at Ozpin and Athena, both looking just as surprised while they stared at him.

After a moment Ozpin broke the silence. "Well, it seems that you have undergone some . . . interesting changes," he said before taking a sip of his coffee.

"That's one way of putting it," Dante muttered as Ozpin turned towards the door.

"This concludes your debriefing. For now rest and recover. We will resume discussing the next Slayer operation once we acquire the necessary information," Ozpin called back before he stepped out, leaving the two Slayers alone again.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"Well, we could message everyone and let them know it's ok for them to come back or we could wait around for the doctors," Athena answered.

"I'm pretty sure the doctors will try to clear them out if they are here so let's just wait."

"Ok. Want me to go get them now?"

"Umm . . . yeah. The sooner they check me the sooner I can get out."

"Ok then, be back in a few."

She stood up from her chair, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to leave the room. As she walked out, Dante closed his eyes while focusing on his surroundings. He could feel something akin to a slight pulse coming from the crystal in his chest, the aura in turn spreading around him in waves. He then felt it bounce back whenever the aura contacted another living being. He could sense other patients, roughly guessing their location and health based on the strength of the return pulse.

After a moment, he noticed a different, stronger response coming back. Unlike the other aura signatures, he could almost visualize the body of its source. It was female, the aura giving a calm and nearly serene feeling that made him feel warm. '_Athena . . .' _he thought as he honed in on her presence. It was strange, almost as if now he could feel what he could see with his draconic eyes, allowing him to read her aura without needing to actually see her.

He smiled to himself, finding her presence as calming as when she actually stood beside him. '_It looks like I'll have many things to practice once I get out of here. I wonder what she will think when I tell her about this . . .' _His smile grew even more as he noticed that she was returning. Somehow he could even tell that she was smiling, her own aura growing warmer as she got closer.

He opened his eyes just as she walked in, a cute smile adorning her as their gazes met. He continued to look at her as she took her regular seat beside him.

"They will be here in a few minutes," she commented as she got comfy before looking at him.

"Sounds good," he replied as he continued to smile at her.

"Something caught your eye?" she asked innocently as she leaned closer.

"Just a special gem," he replied smoothly as he leaned towards her with a cocky smile.

"A dummy and a flatterer," she whispered as she cupped his cheek affectionately.

"Your dummy," he returned before he kissed her sweetly, enjoying the soft feeling of her lips against his.

'_I guess we can make the best of some alone time . . .'_

* * *

**Author's Rant: So, I have to admit, this chapter felt a little forced, at least the breakup anyways. Let me know what you guys thought. Anyways, we are getting back to the action soon. Hope everyone enjoyed!**

**Fav~Follow~Review~Comment!**


	36. Recovery

**Author's Note &amp; Rant: I had to write this thing three times! since the site keeps glitching (other authors, I know you konw what I'm talking about). To make this quick . . . WOOHHOOOO! 10K views baby! Thank you to ll my readers for making that possible and for sticking through so far (you shall not be disappointed!) Hope everyone enjoys the early release chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"I wonder where he is?"

"Maybe he slept in?"

"I don't think so Coco, I doubt the Slayers are the types to sleep in."

"You think so Yatsu?"

"Well, he was seriously injured so I think he can be entitled to some extra sleep," added Fox.

"There he is now," Coco said making the team look to the cafeteria doors.

Velvet had to hold back her desire to run up to the injured Slayer and hug him. She watched as he walked in, dressed in a full school uniform along with his right arm tied up in a sling, with his hands bandaged up to his fingers.

It had been two days since he recovered from his coma and was discharged from the hospital wing. He had managed to revert his claws but his knuckle and fingers remained armored so he resorted to keeping them hidden until he regained full control of his arm. The doctors had said that his arm was recovering but at a rate similar to humans so it would take up to a week before the nerves and aura channels fully healed up.

Since he had asked Port if he could skip the lectures to spend more time resting, Velvet had offered for him to join her and her team for breakfast since they didn't have any morning classes till later in the day.

The Slayer gave them a friendly wave as he approached, Velvet returning the wave eagerly as he drew closer. He stopped beside the group before speaking, "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late, I slept in a little."

"Oh, no worries. You need to rest after all," Velvet replied.

Dante softly nodded at her statement though he didn't look particularly pleased.

"True enough . . . well, I'll go get my food and be back in a moment," he said as he turned towards the line.

"I'll join you," Velvet said as she quickly joined his side. Dante only sighed as he started to walk.

'_What's up with him?' _Velvet wondered as she walked quietly beside him until they got into the line, some of the other students getting noticeably quiet at the Slayer's presence. After a minute or so Velvet decided to break the silence.

"Hey Dante, is something bothering you?"

He gave her a side glance before beginning to grab some plates while answering.

"It's not really a big deal, it's just . . . kind of odd being the one looked after. I'm used to getting back on my feet almost immediately but now it feels like I'm being treated as frail."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I can't train in peace or even go off on my own without someone reprimanding me for 'pushing too hard' or 'being oblivious to my own needs'. I'll be fine . . . I always have been."

Velvet looked silently at him as he finished gathering his plate before the two walked back to her group's table. As Dante set his tray down and was about to sit Velvet reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked at her with a mix of surprise and curiosity but she didn't say anything as she pulled him along, away from the table and leaving a very confused team behind.

They walked silently together out of the cafeteria and into a large courtyard built adjacently to the cafeteria. She looked around to see if there was any particularly unoccupied area to sit at. She spotted a little bench off to her left, resting under the tree shade. She led Dante there and gestured for him to sit down while she remained standing in front of him. He still looked more curious than anything as he waited for her to speak while she collected her thoughts.

She took a deep breath before beginning, "You **are** pushing yourself too hard."

He looked like he was about to say something but she raised hand for him to wait.

"Do you understand just how worried we were about you? Every time I saw you in that hospital bed, I felt like my heart was in a vice grip. We didn't know if you would ever wake up . . ."

She stopped as she took another quick breath, her hands clenched at her sides as she continued.

"I don't think I've ever been so worried about someone else in my life . . . I thought I could lose the first real family I had ever had . . . that I would be alone again . . ."

She felt tears sting at the back of her eyes as the memories of those nights spent crying came back but she did her best to hold them back.

"You are strong, there is no doubt about that . . . Hell, I'm almost certain that you are the strongest person I've ever met, period . . . but that doesn't mean that you always have to be. I know that you are used to bearing all the weight alone, that you learned to only rely on yourself, even if at times it felt like you might just fall apart but I'm telling you that you don't have to anymore."

Her breath hitched, the tears finally breaking through but she continued regardless.

"It might be a tough pill to swallow but the truth is that you were seriously hurt and you need to take time to recover. You aren't alone anymore and you don't have to bare all the responsibilities alone either, so let us help you. We are just trying to look after you and make sure that you get to a full recovery . . . that's all . . ." she finished as she looked down, her frame trembling as she continued to lightly sob.

She kept her face trained down as she heard Dante stand up and step closer to her before he softly pulled her into a one armed hug, her face gently resting against his chest with his chin over her head. After a few seconds she brought her arms up and slowly draped them around him, pulling him closer as she continued to softly cry while he began to hum.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Dante's warm embrace bringing her comfort until she finally relaxed enough to stop crying. Then he released the hug and leaned back while placing a finger under her chin and tilting it up to look at him. He looked sad but his eyes conveyed a gentleness and care that seemed to fill her with warmth.

"I'm sorry Velvet . . . I didn't think you were all so worried about my health. I see now that I should be more grateful towards everyone . . . it's just hard sometimes. Even with everything that has happened in the last few months I sometimes still feel like I should be the one handling everything but then I forget that there are people worried about me."

He shifted his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb wiping away the last of her tears before he leaned forward and surprised her with a kiss on the forehead. She couldn't help but blush at the tender display of affection, her lips shifting into a small smile.

"I'll take it easy for a few more days while my arm recovers, ok? And if you want, you can tag along for some of my lighter training to make sure I don't get myself in any more trouble."

She nodded as she took a step back before speaking, "As long as you don't overstrain yourself I'll happily join you."

Dante finally smiled as well, seemingly more relaxed then when he first arrived in the cafeteria. Velvet grabbed Dante's hand again, the two beginning to walk back to the cafeteria.

As they walked Dante chuckled earning a confused look from Velvet.

"Aren't you being very affectionate lately, going as far as holding my hand in public," he said while stifling another chuckle.

"And what's wrong with it? Are you worried someone might get jealous?" she teased with a wink.

Dante stopped walking as he looked at her in surprise, apparently thinking that his and Athena's getting together was still secret.

"I'm sorry but it was pretty obvious the minute you got out of the hospital. You two are nearly inseparable and frequently have each other's scents on you. I'm almost certain that the only people who haven't noticed are Weiss, Ruby, Jaune, and Nora," she continued.

"Wait, but if you knew then why not say anything?" he asked with a faint blush.

"Because it would be rude unless you two openly say it."

"Huh . . . and here I thought that we were being discreet," he muttered before looking at her with a mischievous grin. "And even then you still go wanting to hold my hand like this?"

"So? Can't a girl hold her big brother's hand every once in a while? After all, it's not like you are being held against your will" she said with an innocent face.

"Sure, I'm just wondering if said girl might happen to have a big brother complex," he teased back with a wiggle of the eyebrows.

"Hey!" she replied with a pout. "I do not have a big brother complex!"

"Yeah . . . sure," he retorted sarcastically which made her pout even more. "Oh don't go making faces. It's true that I don't mind at all, I just couldn't resist teasing you is all."

"Meanie," she mumbled as she gave him a soft tap on his good shoulder with her free hand making him chuckle even more.

"Ok, let's get back to the cafeteria and eat, I'm starved," he said as he resumed walking, giving her a big smile which she immediately returned.

* * *

The room was dark and silent, her bed feeling cozy and soft as she snuggled further into her sheets. She was peacefully slumbering until a soft gasp caught her attention. She didn't move as she waited to see if she would hear it again. It sounded again, slightly muffled but definitely a gasp coming from the bed opposite hers. She opened her eyes as she sat up, waiting for her vision to adjust to the low light.

She looked to her right at her partner's bed, the sheets moving back and forth randomly as the occupant fidgeted. '_He is having nightmares again' _she thought as she slid of her bed and moved closer. She could see him now, his face contorted into a grimace as he clenched at the sheets around him.

"Dante . . . Dante, calm down. It isn't real, open your eyes," she whispered while gently reaching for his face.

At the touch he jerked up with another gasp, his eyes wide as he looked at her with their draconic form, some sweat trailing off his brow. She didn't even need to say anything as she gently pulled his head to her chest.

"It's ok . . . I'm here . . ." she whispered soothingly as he hugged her with both arms, his face hidden just above her bosom.

She knew what he had dreamed about. Even though it had been nearly a week since he left the hospital, by the second night he had been unable to sleep since he kept remembering the illusion Alluria had tormented him with. She had tried her best to sooth him, finally getting him to at least rest by laying his head on her lap while she ran her hand through his hair. It made her heart ache seeing him struggle against his worst fears brought into cruel clarity by that bat's semblance but there was little she could do. It was a fear that Dante would have to learn to control while all she could do was hold him close and hope for the best.

So far she was the only one that knew about the illusion and his nightmares. He still wasn't sure if he could handle retelling the experience so he kept it secret, only allowing her to see him at his most vulnerable.

After some time, he slowly started to calm down. He leaned back, looking at her face with a sad smile.

"Thank you," he whispered earnestly.

She gave him a sweet smile before gently cupping his cheek and saying, "Always."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before she leaned in and gave him a tender kiss, willing all her love and support into it, letting him know that she was there for him. They held the kiss for a few minutes before she broke it before she glanced at his bed, an idea coming to mind.

"W-want me to stay with you tonight?" she asked shyly as a faint blush marked her cheeks.

He looked at her in surprise before smiling happily as he moved back while lifting the sheets. She eagerly took the invitation as she got into his bed and snuggled up against him, using his left arm as a pillow while he wrapped his right arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She looked at him for a moment before looking down at his exposed chest, the silver crystal faintly glowing in the darkness. She gently placed her hand on it, the crystal responding by glowing brighter with a blueish hue as heat radiated from it into her hand.

"It's funny . . . it's almost like it has a mind of its own," Dante whispered as he looked at her.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it only glows like that when I focus my aura or you touch it," he explained.

"Really?"

"Mhmm. I know because some of the others touched it but it didn't start to glow like it does with you."

"So you think it has to do with your new sensing ability?"

She recalled how Dante explained that he could mentally visualize as well as sense and pinpoint other aura sources, even being able to judge the level of strength each user had without them needing to actually flare it. He had told her that for some reason he could actually visualize her complete body, even her facial expressions but he couldn't for others.

"No . . . I think it reflects how I feel," he answered making her look at him in pleasant surprise.

"And how did you guess that?" she asked happily.

"Like this . . . I . . . love . . . you." As he spoke each word the crystal's glow momentarily glowed brighter before returning to the soft glow it held when she touched it.

She felt her heart do a somersault as he said that, her entire body burning up with desire to hug him, kiss him, among many other things . . .

She pinched her own cheeks to keep the heated thoughts at bay all the while he looked at her slightly confused as to why she did that.

She gave him a silly smile before grabbing the back of his head and pulling him into another kiss, this time deeper and more passionate. Dante seemed surprised by the sudden kiss but soon reciprocated, occasionally nibbling her bottom lip in a way he knew would get a reaction out of her. She could feel his skin heat up as they pulled their bodies closer. Soon she touched his lip with her tongue, wanting more of him with every passing moment.

He immediately complied, his tongue this time putting up much more of a fight but she prevailed in the end. He didn't seem to mind one bit, simply going for another love bite, this time eliciting a small moan from her. They continued their make out session as their bodies moved and wriggled around until she was straddling him, his left hand trailing down her back while his right held her waist. She then felt his hand give her rear a quick squeeze, making her yelp in surprise as she broke the kiss and sat up.

"Is someone getting a little handsy?" she teased with a wink.

"Can you blame me?" he replied with a cheeky grin while repeating the squeeze, this time a little harder which made her gasp.

"Oh I see how it is . . ." she said before grabbing both his hands and holding them down at his sides. "But being naughty will only get you punished," she purred in his ear.

"How so?" he asked, looking very interested in what kind of punishment he would receive.

"Who knows?" she said in a low, sensual voice as she started to slowly grind on his lap.

She kept their eyes locked as she moved with deliberately slow movements, occasionally biting her own lip while having her face hover inches above his. She could see how he looked at her hungrily, wanting to pull her in to taste her lips again but she kept his hands down at his sides. She leaned down until their noses touched, just out of reach for him to kiss. He tried to close the distance but she pulled back, all the while biting her own lips.

He growled in response, a primal yet arousing sound that sent vibrations through his frame into hers. Listening to it sent shivers down her spine, desire building within her as she looked into his draconic eyes. She could feel him heat even more, a certain nudge letting her know that he really wanted her. Her own excitement grew as well, her body itching and thirsting for his touch yet she continued on as both started to pant and occasionally moan.

"So . . . this . . . is . . . punishment?" he asked through heavy breaths.

"Mm . . . hmm . . ." was all she could manage to reply as she sped up her movement, her grip on his hands becoming loose.

Suddenly she felt his hands escape her grip as he sat up, pushing up her shirt to hug her around the waist before pulling her into a deep kiss. He kissed her even more aggressively before trailing down her chin and neck, sometimes giving her a bite to make her moan in pleasure, all the while as she continued to grind on him. She then felt one of his hands trailing up, feeling along her smooth stomach making her skin burn at the touch. He soon reached her breasts, slowly and gently massaging them as she did her best to stifle large moans and gasps.

"No bra huh," he whispered in her ear before he nibbled on it, making her grasp the back of his neck.

"Are you going to complain?" she teased back before putting her hand on his chest and pushing him back until he was laying down flat while she sat on top of him. "Now sit still for a moment," she whispered as she looked at him with a lusty gaze.

As he stared at her she slowly began to run her hands down over her own body, deliberately taking her time as she passed over her breasts until she reached the bottom of her shirt. She then licked her lips as she slowly lifted it, still grinding on him. She kept raising it until the very bottom of her breasts were visible. She locked eyes with him for a moment before she gave him a devilish grin and dropped her shirt back down.

"It's a punishment, remember," she said coyly while Dante stared at her, his mind apparently trying to understand what the hell just happened.

"Now that just isn't fair," he said after finally rebooting.

"Hmm . . . maybe but that's what you get," she chirped.

Dante gave her a sour face but that only served to make her giggle before laying down beside him, their legs remaining interlaced with his right arm around her waist. She then placed one hand on his cheek.

"And one more thing . . . I love you too," she said sweetly before kissing him again.

As she broke the kiss and looked at him, she could see the love he had for her, unwavering and undying, as his irises almost seemed to glow with silver and blue. She then rested her head on his chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heart beat lulling her to sleep. He sighed in content as well, the pair slowing falling into a peaceful slumber, without any nightmares to disturb them for the night.

* * *

"I don't believe my eyes, are you slowing down?" he asked mockingly.

" . . ." No reply aside from the occasional pant complimented with a steely glare.

"Come on, where's that unrelenting demon I've heard so much about?" he continued, unfazed by the look.

"Umm Havasu, maybe you're being too forceful . . ." commented Blake as she looked on, concern trailing in her voice.

"Nonsense! Come on Dante, let's see what you got. Yang can't be that heavy."

"Hey!" Yang snapped from her seat on Dante's shoulders.

"Hehe," he chuckled at the blonde's expense.

He glanced at his scroll, checking the timer. '_A little over an hour and a half, 30 minutes of it with Yang on his shoulders. Not bad considering he is only using his right arm and just recovered full control of it,' _he thought as he looked back at his draconic pseudo-leader.

Havasu had gotten up early that morning and had invited Dante to tag along for some training, after hacking into his dorm and knocking on his room door for thirty minutes until he finally answered, of course. Dante had looked rather well rested though it took some convincing to get him to go. He had heard Athena lightly groan from inside the room and mumble something about him getting back to bed.

Havasu had grinned wickedly at him and tried to see into the dark room but Dante kept his vision blocked, quickly shutting the door in his face before changing clothes and then coming out, all the while without letting Havasu see inside. He dropped it after some teasing as the two got a quick breakfast before heading to the gym.

Once there, the duo warmed up with light sparring, mostly testing each other's reflexes and movement speed. Havasu was pleasantly surprised to see that Dante had recovered most of his ability prior to be hospitalized though his right arm seemed to tire quicker than the rest of his body so they decided to switch to endurance training. Dante had positioned himself to do one-armed push-ups with his feet elevated by a small stool while Havasu kept time. After 50 minutes or so Yang and Blake had arrived and joined them as soon as they spotted them, both dressed in jogging shorts and sweaty tank tops since they had just returned from a morning run.

After some light chatter, Havasu got the bright idea of having one of the girls sit on Dante's shoulder while also having him push off the ground and tap his shoulder to make the workout tougher. Yang had instantly agreed to it and hopped on before Dante could voice any protest. Now he seemed to be ever so slightly slowing down, a light coat of sweat covering his shoulders and face.

"Come on Dante, just another 30 minutes and we can switch to another exercise," he said with a grin.

"You mean this isn't all you're going to make him do?" Blake asked incredulously. She and Velvet had been policing Dante's workouts lately, making sure to keep him from overexerting until he fully recovered from his injuries.

"Of course not! If it wasn't for his arm being a little behind, this would only be a warm up," he retorted.

"Kinda ridiculous, don't you think?" Yang commented as she glanced down at Dante, his head dropping down slightly so that his eyes were obscured by his hair.

"You guys haven't seen anything yet," he replied with an evil glint in his eyes, both girls shuddering as if a cold breeze hit them.

"You guys are scary," Yang muttered back.

"He's right though," Dante said as he looked up for a moment, more sweat trailing off his brow. "I need to push myself harder now that I recovered full control of my arm . . . otherwise I'll just get beaten again."

Blake didn't look too convinced but didn't object as she looked on. Yang also stayed quiet, patiently waiting as Dante dropped his head back down and continued. After a few minutes Havasu got curious about what he heard that morning, a mischievous grin plastering itself on his face.

"So Dante, what happened last night?" he asked.

" . . . What do you mean?" he returned after a brief pause.

"You know exactly what I mean. What happened with Athena?" he persisted as Blake leaned closer, her own curiosity peaked.

"Why do you think something happened?" Dante asked cautiously.

"I don't know, I just heard her mumble about you getting back to bed. Now how would she know that you got up if you move almost soundlessly and I know she sleeps in on Saturday mornings, so there is no way that she was already up?"

"Your knocking woke her up," he answered before remaining silent, his push-up pace evening out while Yang and Blake looked at him expectantly.

'_Getting tightlipped are we? I got something that'll corner you.' _He thought slyly.

"Then why didn't you even let me see inside your room? Did something inappropriate happen between you two?" he purred as both Yang and Blake lightly blushed, their minds already jumping around with the details he had supplied.

After a moment or so Havasu noticed something fall from Dante's face. He looked down curiously to see a red liquid. Then Dante looked up at him with a cold glare but all Havasu could do was stifle his desire to laugh. '_Oh my Oum! He's having a nosebleed! If Kiara saw this she would bust a gut!' _he thought with glee as he watched a few more drops trail down to his chin and it was all that funnier because Dante didn't stop doing his push-ups.

"Dante!" Blake squeaked while her cheeks darkened even more, Yang not far behind.

Havasu couldn't take it anymore, his laughter finally bursting out as he rolled on his back, tears of mirth breaking loose as well.

"Jealous are we?"

Havasu's laughter stopped abruptly as he sat up to look at Dante, the dragon smirking back as the nosebleed stopped.

"Me? Jealous? No, just glad you finally got it over with," he responded nonchalantly.

"If by 'got it over with' you mean getting together, then yes, otherwise we haven't done anything else," Dante defended.

"Really? I thought with that tension between you two, the moment you got together we would need to soundproof your room," he said shamelessly.

"Stop it, there are minors present," Dante deadpanned as he glanced at Blake.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are the least of your worries," he continued as he looked at the two girls. Blake was as red as a cherry, avoiding either of their gazes while Yang looked like she was in the middle of some very lewd thoughts judging by the small drop of drool.

"I hope it isn't too late for the rest of them," Dante commented as he looked back at Havasu, Blake and Yang both glaring at him from the comment. "And you better not be getting any ideas."

"What? I'm innocent I tell you," he defended in mock hurt.

"Sure, and I'm a vegetarian," Dante retorted.

"Oh come on, what have I done to earn such a rep?"

"I just get a feeling."

"Hey! The girls around here are cute, don't get me wrong but I'm more interested in women, if you get my drift," he replied with a not too subtle wink.

"Aha . . . sure, like a 19 year old is _so _much more mature than the students currently here," Dante added sarcastically.

"I've seen more combat and horrors than half of the professors here," he retorted somewhat darkly.

"Like what?" the girls asked in unison, their interests now diverted from the previously perverted trail they had taken.

Havasu glanced at them briefly before he sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Another time maybe," he said, silencing the girls even as they gave him disappointed looks. '_Don't really want to go around giving them nightmares' _he thought as he looked to Dante, the dragon looking back solemnly as he nodded in understanding.

"True enough . . . but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are beyond trying to relate and have fun with someone around here," Dante continued, his eyes softening with sympathy. "It can be nice having someone to talk to . . . and to hold close from time to time."

" . . . Maybe but not right now," he answered as he stood up. "Come on, I think that's enough for today."

Dante gave him a quizzical look before grunting and standing up, Yang hopping off and standing beside him, Blake joining her side once she stood up as well.

"So what are you two going to do now?" asked Blake as she looked Dante up and down, his tank shirt sticking to his sweaty body allowing for a clear view of his chest and abs.

"Well, I guess we can go and take a break in one of the courtyards, maybe meet up with the others and head to Vale for some fun later," he suggested.

"Doesn't look like we'll get the chance," Dante muttered as he pointed to something behind Havasu.

He turned around to see Professor Ozpin walking towards them, his usual mug nowhere in sight and an almost cold look on his regularly neutral face. '_Oh great, what happened now?'_

"We'll catch you girls later," Dante said to Blake and Yang, the two waving their goodbyes as they left the gym.

Once Ozpin stood before them he spoke, "Dante and Havasu, just the two I needed to see."

"What can we do for you professor?" he asked politely.

Ozpin looked them both over before responding, "I believe it is time that we begin organizing your next mission. Follow me to my office." Without another word Ozpin turned on his heel and began to walk away.

Havasu gave a quick glance to Dante, the two probably having the same thought 'More fun' before they started to follow.

* * *

**Author's Rant part 2: Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, teasing included. (I'm sorry but I still can't decide if the story will have full on lemons or not yet) and time to get that plot moving!**

**Comments~Feedback~Reviews greatly appreciated and openly recieved (seriously, I look like a 7 year old boy that got his favorite action figure for christmas whenever I answer feedback)**


	37. Ill Omens

**Author's Note: Yet another chapter out and ahead of schedule! Fair warning, this chapter gets dark and that's going to be the mood for a bit. Hope everyone enjoys as always**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

* * *

"Can I get you anything to drink before we begin?"

The Slayers both declined, both looking at him intently as they waited for the meeting to begin. The three sat in his office, the sound of clock gears overhead making the only noise. He looked them over again, looking to read any and all reactions they would have as he spoke but for now, both remained impassive.

He took a sip of his own coffee, the hot liquid bringing a sense of clarity to his mind, before beginning.

"First things I need to verify. Dante, I trust that Nyx supplied you with the records and reports regarding your infiltration of the Crescent Fall Dance, correct?"

Dante nodded.

"And do you need any clarifications about the reports on the kidnappings?"

"No sir. As I understand it, the reports say that a majority of those kidnapped were faunus children, most ranging from 7 to 13 years old. A few cases are human children but they differ in the fact that they were all 8 years old, some close to 9."

"Correct, but has any of this knowledge given you particular worry?"

"Isn't it all worrying? They're kids for Oum's sake!" Havasu snapped in annoyance.

Ozpin looked at Havasu, the young man's outburst seemingly being very off character for the usually humorous and easy going behavior. He was about to ask why this subject seemed to bother him so easily but a grunt from Dante drew his attention away. The leader's face was contorted into a frown, his eyes heavy with thought.

"What's on your mind Argentum?" he asked as his curiosity grew.

Dante glanced at him before responding. "Well professor, I was just thinking about how all the faunus children taken were in the middle of a critical growth phase."

"What do you mean?" Havasu asked.

"Well, Omegas aside, when a faunus child reaches the age range of puberty, their bodies undergo a dramatic hormone change along with the appearance of their secondary features or for some the growth of additional primary features."

"Please explain," Ozpin requested.

"Yes sir . . . Almost all faunus children are born with a single animal feature, usually the ears, horns, or tail. Although most already have perfect night vision and fine senses, they don't have the claws, teeth, or animal eyes that appear in states of agitation. Usually around the age of 8 or 9, they begin to grow these secondary features. For the higher classes such as Beta and Alpha, this means that they begin to grow their other primary features."

"What's the difference between primary and secondary?" inquired Havasu.

"Primary features are those that appear in a natural state. They don't only appear in states of agitation and have to be willingly hidden. Take me for example. I have to focus my body to hide my tail, claws, and eyes while my fangs and scales can't even be hidden, just shortened or covered up. That's why Lucian and I always take a breath before showing our real eyes, we need to relax and let them shift. Blake and Velvet on the other hand have claws and animal eyes as a secondary feature while they hide their tails, teeth, and in Blake's case, ears."

"So what does that mean for the children?" Ozpin asked, wanting to form a cohesive understanding of why this peaked Dante's interest.

"It means that those children are aggressive, hyper, and unstable," Dante answered in a hard tone. "Their bodies are literally breaking and reforming to adjust to the changes, all the while they writhe in pain. Not to mention that their mental state is highly volatile and impressionable."

"Is it really that bad?" Havasu asked worriedly.

"I had to be chained down for a week if that gives you an idea," Dante replied with a cold stare. "Every sound was like a drum pounding in my head, the softest lights burned, and it felt like my body was burning inside out. I could hear my own bones and skin tear as my claws came in, feel my fangs as they pushed out my human teeth. I've also heard that the tail is one of the worst pains but luckily I was born with my tail."

"Damn . . ." Havasu muttered as he looked back to Ozpin.

Ozpin himself was heavily entrenched in his thoughts, connecting the dots on these odd conditions linking the chain of kidnappings. As he continued his train of thought other worrying details arose. After the death of councilman Glacewall, the Atlas council had deemed fit to allow Ironwood access into the Razorback area, dispatching small teams under the guise of search parties and patrols. Yet some of those contingents had gone radio silent once in the area leading Ironwood to believe them dead.

As if by coincidence, several attacks have been reported surrounding large mining towns near the western borders. The council along with a heavy hand from the Schnee Dust Company forced Ironwood to send in his own Templar team, the last of his own Slayer-classed hunters available under his direct command, to protect the mines from anymore attacks. This is why Ozpin needs his own Ghost team to mobilize soon and now that Dante seemed to be nearly recovered it could be done.

'It seems that the timing is becoming critical. Even if Dante was at 100%, it would be too great a risk to only send a handful of them into the area. There is also the possibility of another attack happening here while the Ghosts are gone . . . we will be at a disadvantage but Ironwood did say that 'they' would be arriving soon to bolster our forces should the need arise' he contemplated before returning his gaze to the silent Slayers.

"It seems that the situation is more pressing than originally suggested. Though the timing is less than perfect, I will need you and your teams to be prepared for departure in a week's time," he said evenly.

"Teams?" Havasu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, though not currently present, I do have your team's final member and have decided to give you command, Mr. Tiypn. Sadly, he will most likely not arrive in time for the mission but will be here on your return. Now, I will inform Nyx to begin planning with you during your class periods, dismissed," he ordered.

With that both Slayers stood, giving quick nods before turning and leaving the office, the sound of the gears above him once again remaining as the only sources of noise as he leaned back in his chair.

'Just what are they even doing with those children?'

* * *

The halls were bleak and cold, a mix of white tiles and grey walls that conveyed no friendliness, only isolation. She hated this place, her charge and post. She could find no comfort or rest regardless of being indoors or out, both options deemed uninviting. She turned a corner and began to ascend a narrow staircase, each step echoing across the expanse of halls and tunnels. She was dressed in black pants and a grey, long sleeved shirt, a dark cloak with the hood down tied at her shoulders reaching just below the waist. Her boots reached up to her calf, accompanied by a sheath loosely tied to her hip.

She felt cramped, forced to hide underground even as her nature compelled and begged her to go outside, into the abyss of night where she was queen. But this was not the sky she called home, this clouded sky that blotted out the stars as angry gales racked across the mountain side, a bone chilling gust that pervaded even in the middle of summer. These skies could not be called home. She missed the temperate forests and soft breezes of Mistral, the night full of stars as she soared among them. The soundless void that welcomed her with open arms.

She sighed as she reached her floor, soundlessly passing through a small door into another hall, this time painted with a dark red and carpet instead of tiles. 'Pointless luxuries,' she thought as she walked along, her footfalls now silent as she reached a room akin to a lobby, a large desk placed near the center with small chairs along the walls. She didn't even glance at the receptionist, a meek looking woman with pale skin and faded green eyes, her black hair pulled into a ponytail while she herself looked down into some files.

As she walked past the woman and into a large wooden door, the woman called behind her, "He is expecting you ma'am."

She didn't bother responding as she closed the door behind her, turning to take in the sight of the room before her. It was rather large and spacious, a high ceiling easily accommodating a second floor. While it retained the same carpeting as the hall, the walls were lined with bookshelves or adorned with a collection of hunting trophies and old swords, all pristinely clean. To her right was a large fireplace, one of the only light sources in the room as the flames danced around the logs placed inside. To her left was what looked like a small bar lined with whiskey next to a black leather couch. In front of her was a large mahogany desk with two chairs placed before it, a small lamp illuminating its surface to reveal some open files and a scroll but she paid them no mind as she looked past it.

Past the desk was the last wall, only this one was a large, tinted glass. It spanned the width of the room and rose to nearly 4 meters, overlooking a sheer drop reaching nearly 500 meters. In the distance she could see the other mountains forming a line of jagged rocks and cliffs, all caked in snow as rogue winds battered against the glass. After a brief moment of taking in the view she turned her attention to the reason she was here.

Standing with his back to her was a large man, his wide shoulders and muscular frame making his presence hard to miss, his hands clasped behind his back. He was dressed in his usual suit, all black with a white collar shirt, leather shoes, watch, and a gold ring adorning his left ring finger. His dark hair was cut short, the very ends of it starting to grey as a sign of his age. He didn't turn or make any sign to acknowledge her presence as he began to speak in a deep voice.

"A beautiful sight, aren't they . . ." It was more of a statement then a question.

"Just looks like another mountain range if you ask me," she replied dryly.

"Humph . . . you belittle them yet they have stood here for centuries, claiming the lives of human, faunus, and Grimm alike. Truly a place where only the strong can survive. A fitting name, the Razorback Mountains," he said as he finally turned to face her.

His skin was a rich and dark color, a stark contrast to the white scenery behind him. His strong jawline along with clean cut face and bold brown eyes made him handsome. His only blemish, a scar running from his right eyebrow to his left cheek, making him seem more rugged. He looked at her with eyes as hard as steel, without the slightest trace of fear or doubt. He was one of the few humans she had ever encountered to not shudder in her presence.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Diomede?" she asked with forced politeness.

"Come, take a seat," the man now known as Diomede said as he gestured to one of the seats before taking his own at the desk.

As she sat down and got comfortable he closed the files on his desk and put them away in a drawer before placing his hands on his desk while looking at her.

"Now Ms. Alluria, I was needing to as—"

He was cut of by a low hiss, the vampire's fangs glinting in the fire light as her eyes bored into the man.

"Do not think yourself so familiar as to address me by name . . . human," she hissed out. "Do so again and that pretty little scar will find company at last."

Diomede didn't even flinch, his only reaction being a smirk as he raised a hand in mock surrender.

"Forgive me . . . Lady Aleera, it simply slipped my mind but I will do my best to remember," he said flatly.

She maintained her glare for a few more seconds before looking away, using the fire as an excuse as to not have to look at the defiant human.

"I must say, it never ceases to amaze me how your eyes change when angered. The black and red coloration is especially captivating but I must be honest, your natural green eye color seems to suite you better. Your ears also complement your hair."

"Cut the idle chatter," she snapped, already tiring of being in his presence.

She didn't like having anyone talk about her ears. Unlike most faunus, she didn't have two sets of ears, instead her single pair being large, bat-like ears. She normally tucked them away beneath her hair since some had been foolish enough as to mock her ears for their pointed shape and black coloration. She normally tore out the heart of anyone who made such comments.

"Very well, to business. First off, I needed a report on the small search group detected earlier this week."

She glanced at him before answering, "Easily dispatched. We even managed to capture one alive . . . at least partially."

"Partially?"

"I took one of the twins with me. He got a little too excited and ended up trying to see how many bones he could break before the soldier lost consciousness. I intervened before it reached that point but he wasn't too happy to have his toy taken away so I let him bring back some corpses to eat with his brother," she explained.

"Charming."

"They always are."

"Now that you bring them up, how is their condition? Any changes?" Diomede inquired.

"I'm sure those meatheads never had much brains to begin with but they are showing increases in strength and stamina but they are losing agility as a drawback. Luckily for them most standard weapons and hunters can't so much as scratch them now."

"That's good to hear. Successful results like them are what keep us steadily funded."

"You mean more like it keeps your head on your shoulders," she muttered earning a hard glare from Diomede.

"Regardless, they are the living proof that what we are striving for is achievable, that the dream can become a reality."

"Yeah, faunus soldiers pumped full of roids before being set loose like rabid dogs, how grand," she said in a mocking tone.

"You seem to doubt our efforts . . . or is it that you feel as if your power is being challenged," he stated, his voice taking a low tone.

Alluria scoffed at him before saying, "Please, as if simple strength and size make any regular mutt a match for an Alpha."

He didn't seem convinced, his eyes becoming as hard as steel while he continued speaking, "I do believe you think too highly of yourself, after all, there is a reason I am the one giving orders here."

She glared back with hate filled eyes but didn't voice any defense. He apparently took that as an invitation to continue.

"You took an interest in two dangerous individuals, acted on your own to test them out while simultaneously costing us nearly 50 soldiers. To make matters worse they were all successful cases of eye enhancement and you left technology secretly developed by us with the assistance of Arachne Enterprises."

"And what of it? There is no way they would have thought to use an autopsy on any of the bodies or figured out how the jammer worked," she defended.

"As far as we know . . ." he retorted gravely. "Not to mention that we were forced to off Glacewall and lose the cover we had secured. Now some of our strongest forces are out causing havoc as to keep the Atlas military occupied but there is still the matter of the Beacon team."

"They should no longer pose the danger they once did. The demon is dead, meaning that the team is now leaderless and without it most dangerous member."

"Can you even verify that he died?"

"He was stabbed twice by my blade and already half way to bleeding out, there is no way he could have survived even if the vitality of dragons is as potent as the legends say," she countered.

"Then that leaves the lycan, a professional hitman known to brutalize his targets along with the remainder of the Slayer teams coming here."

"We can handle them easily," she stated with confidence. "The twins are more than powerful enough to take on the remaining human members and I can finish off the mutt."

"What of the newest member? We know nothing about the new member and it is impossible for us to reacquire the first files obtained by the witch," he returned.

She scowled at him, knowing that he was in fact right, it would be impossible. Just like the other Slayers, they're personal records are kept in independent systems and public files are erased so there is now way of verifying who and what the new member can do. She had also lost her right hand, Mamba, during the dance and so had no means to infiltrate and steal the necessary files.

"It shouldn't tip the scales in any way, the twins are powerful and if push comes to shove, you could always join us," she reasoned.

"Humph, then what would be the point of having you as a guard anyways. I will request some additional soldiers as a precaution . . ." he said as he grabbed the scroll and began to type away a quick message before setting it down.

He looked like he was about to proceed but was interrupted by a series of rapid knocks at the door. He apparently wasn't expecting any intrusion, judging by the looks but he called out regardless, "Come in."

Not a second later a scrawny looking man burst in, walking hastily to the desk before clearing his throat and waiting to speak. He had pale, almost colorless skin with grey hair combed back, dressed in an old lab coat. He had simple black slacks and black sweater underneath, the smell of disinfectant and latex radiating off him.

"Dr. Lepio, what is it?" Diomede asked calmly.

"Mr. Diomede, I believe we have made a breakthrough . . ." Lepio answered seriously.

Diomede's eyes flare up as he stood, "Show me."

"That is why I came, to retrieve you personally," he said as he turned to Alluria with cold, dark eyes, "I need you to come as well."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously. She wouldn't admit it but whenever he looked at her she felt a shudder run down her spine.

She did not fear him and knew that he had no chance of actually harming her but regardless she hated his gaze. She had seen the doctor at work, knew of the sick aura that radiated around him as he cut his patients open. While she enjoyed carnage and torturing her prey, the thought of being on his operating table as he gleefully hacked away, relishing in the agonizing screams as he reconstructed her body to suit his twisted imagination left a vile taste in her mouth.

"Because you are part of the breakthrough," he answered simply.

She glanced at Diomede for a moment before sighing as she stood up as well, the two others not waiting a moment longer as they began to walk out of the room. As they passed the desk and made their way down the hall, Dr. Lepio started to explain.

"As you are both aware, we have been experimenting with human enhancement through gene manipulation for some time. Though after a few years we identified several genetic codes, that upon activation, could create dramatic changes to the body of the subject but almost all resulted in debilitating side effects. Cardiac arrest, hypertension, muscle tears, nerve failure, skeletal atrophy . . . simply put, human bodies are not meant to experience more than one period of extreme growth. Even subjects with aura could not heal at a rate suitable to match the rate of decay."

"Get on with it," she complained as they arrived to an elevator on their left.

The group stepped in and then Lepio walked to a scanner and keypad on the right wall. He fished out a small ID card and quickly pressed it up to the scanner before typing in an 8 digit code. Once complete the scanner turned green as the doors closed and the elevator began to descend.

"Now where was I . . ." the doctor muttered with a pointed glare at Alluria before he continued. "Anyways, due to the string of failures with human subjects, we turned our attention to faunus enhancement and were pleasantly surprised to see even more diverse arrays of genetic codes specialized for growth. Depending on the genetic makeup of any particular faunus the individual can grow a variety of animalistic features or even change some of their anatomy at will."

" . . ."

"If these genes of a faunus are reactivated, then their body will undergo changes according to the gene specified. Their bodies are especially well suited for increased muscle density, skeletal growth, and even sense enhancement. With these genes identified and isolated we began to implement them directly into human test subjects through gene therapy. Unlike the previous results, the genetic codes originating from the faunus have sequences missing from the human code and so, create far more stable changes within the humans such as some of our soldiers with night vision nearly on par with faunus."

" . . ."

"Sadly, the results still fell short of expectations. The genes extracted from adult faunus turned out to only be part of the necessary ingredients. Adult bodies lacked the natural hormones and enzymes needed to fuel the growth so we turned to younger specimens . . ."

The elevator finally stopped its descent, opening into another hall. This one was built with steel and glass, the right side lined with multiple sets of thick steel doors, each leading to a holding cell. The left side had glass walls allowing for anyone to see the lab equipment and doctors as they worked. As they began to walk she could hear cries of pain, smell fresh and old blood, the occupants of each room begging for the pain to stop. She tried her best to ignore them as they walked on, Lepio continuing as if there weren't any cries at all.

"After careful examination, we isolated the hormones and enzymes generated within the bodies of young fauna, learning to replicate them. Now with those hormones being injected into a test subject before commencing gene therapy, the resulting growth was exceptionally greater than previous tests allowing for the subjects to go beyond suggested limitations. The twins are proof of that . . ."

As they walked they crossed an operation room. Alluria glanced inside to see some doctors slicing apart a body on an inspection table, a young boy by the looks of it. As they worked on the corpse one of the doctors looked up to see their group pass by, Dr. Lepio giving them a curt nod as they walked past. 'They are all mad here' she thought as she looked forward again and returned her attention to what Lepio was saying.

". . . so the experiment can almost be considered standard procedure now. However, we have had little success in reaching for the ultimate prize . . . until now," Lepio stated smugly as they approached another room, this one significantly larger than those previous, the atmosphere reeking of blood and decay.

At the center was a large steel table with several smaller platforms holding an array of knives and medical tools. Strapped to the table was a small human girl, dressed in a small hospital gown with her wrists and ankles tied to each end of the table. She was blonde with clear blue eyes, her skin a beautiful rosy shade. Her only blemish was a small scar on her neck, reaching from just below her chin to the end of her jaw.

She looked at them with shaky eyes, her heartbeat racing as she shifted against her restraints. Dr. Lepio walked past the table and reached for some gloves while Alluria and Diomede stayed beside the table.

"I'm surprised she isn't screaming or crying," Alluria commented as she looked at the girl.

"The children have seen what happens when they voice complaints," Lepio answered coldly before continuing.

"Now, we have managed to take enzymes used to activate the genes from the young fauna and concoct a serum of sorts, rather than use extensive gene therapy to slowly enhance the subject. Of course there is the added side effect of giving human faunus features such as night vision and so forth. In a sense we are creating human-faunus hybrids, the enhancements and physical changes depending on the class and type of faunus the genes originated from."

"But . . ." Lepio continued as he walked to a locked shelf. He produced a key, quickly opening it so Alluria could see the contents, all vials filled with thick dark liquids reminiscent of blood. Lepio picked one from the top shelf with a black lid and turned to them. ". . . the genes of an Alpha have proved too 'aggressive' to be tolerated by the subject's bodies, regardless of whether they are faunus or human. Just look at the mess that happened the last time," he said as he pointed to a table at the far end of the room.

Alluria saw a white body bag, the zipper running the length party opened as a limp arm hung out. 'So that's where it was coming from' she thought as she watched almost black blood seep out of tears running the length of the arm. The wounds looked like the skin and muscle underneath had exploded under pressure. She then glanced back at the open cabinet and noticed there was one vial marked with an almost neon-red lid beside the black lidded vials.

"What's with that one?" she asked with a point.

Dr. Lepio followed her finger to the distinct vial. "Oh, that is a serum I managed to cook from the little gift you brought us."

"You mean . . ." she looked at him suspiciously.

"Yes, it is . . . shame you couldn't just bring back the entire body. Who knows what I could have learned from such a rare specimen. Now, can I continue from where I left off?" he asked crossly.

She glared back at him for a while before curtly nodding.

"The subject had survived for some time and we thought that the finished serum was successful but then we found that this morning. As always, I personally review the checkups and readings of each failed experiment as to discern the point of failure. While doing so I found a very interesting detail," Dr. Lepio explained as he poured the serum into a syringe.

"What was it?" asked Diomede as he observed the girl, now whimpering as she stared at the needle in Dr. Lepio's hands.

"During a routine checkup and a second injection of the serum, the child showed stabilization. I checked the records for the particular version of the serum used, whether it was full strength or diluted and so discovered that the injection had accidentally made use of untampered blood, your blood, Lady Aleera."

"And what of it?" She asked as she glanced at the liquid within the syringe.

"Though this was an error of the staff, as it turns out this was a fortunate occurrence. You see, unlike the other faunus breeds or hunters even, the aura of an Alpha is so potent that their blood actually gives off residual aura. Now, if it take that fact into account, then I assume that it was your aura within the blood that stabilized the child," Dr. Lepio concluded.

"So then what is it that you need, more blood?" she asked hotly. She wasn't too keen on having the doctor come near her with a needle again.

"No, what I need is a higher concentration of your aura to be funneled into her body," he answered as he gestured to the girl.

"What!? Are you crazy!?It will kill her before you even get the chance to inject her," she snapped angrily. 'Doesn't he know that forcing ones aura into another body will cause the receiver to literally dissolve from the inside out as their body tries to reject the invasive aura?' she thought as she stared at Lepio.

"Not before I inject her but, if it is done after, then there is a high probability that she will stabilize and not require further injections while still achieving the desired results," he retorted.

She was about to argue that it was a waste but then Diomede snapped, "Do it. We can always try on another if Dr. Lepio's theory doesn't work here."

She glared at Diomede for a few seconds before looking back at the doctor, a smug look on his face as he grabbed the girl by the jaw and turned her head away as she whimpered even harder, small tears trailing down her cheeks. He placed the tip of the syringe to her neck, slowly forcing the needle in making the girl gasp. Once it was deep enough, he started to press the liquid in completely.

"30 milliliters . . . a complete dosage at full strength," he muttered as he pulled the need out.

He then placed the syringe down and released the now silent girl, closely watching her. She didn't so much as move for nearly 10 seconds before suddenly arching her back as she let out a piercing scream making Alluria wince. Then the girl started to thrash around, pulling at the restraints as she screamed incoherently. They watched on as the girl's body convulsed from pain, her breathing becoming strained as she looked around with dilated eyes.

Then suddenly the girl coughed, blood spluttering out staining her chin and gown. If that sight wasn't bad enough, she started to bleed from around her eyes, making it look as if she was crying blood.

"Now, inject your aura now," Lepio instructed.

Alluria glanced at him briefly before she reached for one of the girls tied hands, effortlessly pulling it free of the leather restraint and bringing it up to her face. She could feel the girl tug away as her muscles continued to spasm but she held her firm. 'It will be easiest if I get it directly into her bloodstream,' she thought as she opened her mouth, two long and slender fangs extending out before she bit down on the girl's wrist, eliciting another scream from her.

She focused her aura into her teeth, feeling it steadily flow into the girl as she continued to cry, having apparently gotten over the initial wave of pain. Alluria kept funneling her aura into the girl for about 15 seconds before releasing the bite. 'Anymore and I'm sure it will kill her.' She held the girl's hand as she occasionally pulled at it while Dr. Lepio went to a small counter and brought back another syringe, this one smaller with a clear liquid in it.

He placed the needle into the girl's arm, the clear liquid being shot into her blood. Alluria could see the girl relaxing, her breathing and heart rate slowing as she slowly started to nod off before finally passing out. Alluria set her hand down while looking at the girl's peaceful face before looking to Dr. Lepio.

"Couldn't you have given her a sedative or painkiller at least before we did that?" she asked with unhidden anger.

"What's this? Showing compassion for a simple human, how surprising," Dr. Lepio replied with a bored look.

"Human yes, but just a child. Look at her, she can't be more than 11," she retorted.

"9 actually, but as to why, because I like to see the reactions," he sneered with an evil glint in his eyes.

She gave him a glare as she turned on her heel, wanting to get away from the mad doctor as soon as possible. 'This place really is just full of monsters of all kinds . . .'

* * *

**Author's Rant: Hope that wasn't a little much for you guys though I did label this story 'M' for a reason. Any comments~Reviews~Feedback appreciated.**


	38. Doubts and Conviction

**Author's Rant: And here we are with another early update (I'm on a role and so are my betas!). Time to get the plot moving with a little cruelty and revelations! Enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"We leave tomorrow around noon so let's do this quickly."

"And you think we can get anything out of her now? She didn't even crack with the lily extract."

"I talked to Ozpin. We don't need to follow protocol anymore," he answered darkly. "She will tell us everything or die."

" . . ."

The three walked down the dim hall in silence. They passed some cells, not bothering to look in to see whether they had occupants or not.

"Who would have guessed Beacon has an entire underground facility dedicated to prisoner holding and interrogation," Havasu commented flatly.

"10 meters below ground in the restricted section of the Emerald Forest. Prime real estate," Lucian added humorlessly.

" . . ." Lucian glanced at their leader in front of them but Dante didn't add anything to their comments, his attention focused on the door at the end of the hall.

Once they arrived, Dante opened the metal door and stepped in, followed by Lucian and Havasu. Inside was Thantos and Crato, both dressed in jeans and old t-shirts as they looked at them. Crato was leaning against the far wall, his knuckles and shirt stained with blood while Thantos sat on a low table, small knives, pliers, and syringes scattered around him. In the center of the room was a woman tied down to a chair, her head slouched forward with drops of blood trailing off her chin.

"Yo," Crato greeted solemnly as he returned his focus to the faunus.

"Still nothing?" Dante asked as he closed the door behind them.

"No," Thantos answered tiredly. "Tear out her claws and scales, use the lily extract, broke her fingers . . . she just hisses and glares."

"Beating didn't work either," Crato added as he cracked his bloody knuckles.

"Well, it's time we tried a new tactic," Dante said as he walked up to the snake and tilted her head up. Lucian walked towards the back of the chair while Havasu joined Thantos at the table.

She was dressed like a common prisoner, the coloration being simple grey while she remained barefoot. One of her eyes was swollen over, her nose clearly broken and several bruises but regardless she glared back defiantly. Dante looked back, his eyes shifted to their draconic form as they pierced into the snake, a target caught by a predator.

"Let's see how quiet you are after I'm through with you," he said as he raised his left hand up, the skin and nails growing into claws and scales.

The snake responded by weakly spitting blood at him, pegging him on the sleeve. He growled at that before latching onto her shoulder and clenching his grip, his claws tearing into the bone and muscle with ease. The snake screamed in agony but none of the Slayers so much as twitched, waiting until the sound died down.

"Now start talking," He continued coldly. "What are the children for?"

The snake looked at him with a forced sneer before replying, "Wouldn't you like to know . . ."

"You really must be a glutton for punishment," Dante retorted as he glanced to her shoulder. "I've been wanting to test this out."

As he said that silver flames coated his hand as the snake started to scream and thrash, feeling her flesh burn as the flames ate away at her. He held it for 5 seconds before killing the flames and removing his hand, a scorched mark of his hand left on her shoulder with the flesh seared around the puncture wounds.

"So they don't bleed if I use the flames huh," Dante muttered as he returned his attention to the snakes face. "Are you feeling chattier now?"

"Fuck . . . you . . ." the snake replied through grit teeth.

"Is it really worth it? Taking all this pain just to protect your demented mistress?" asked Lucian from behind her.

"You call her demented yet you do not see the bigger picture," the snake muttered as she continued to glare at Dante.

"And what would be this 'bigger picture'?" asked Thantos.

The snake turned to look at him, her open eye showing nothing but contempt. "To return the rightful rulers to their thrones . . ."

As she said that Lucian glanced at Dante, the two locking eyes as the same thought crossed their minds, '_Alphas.'_

"What the hell are you talking about?" Havasu snapped as he stepped forward to look the snake face to face. "Stop trying to distract us and answer the original question!"

The snake remained silent, defiantly looking away while Dante had Lucian had a silent debate amongst themselves, their eyes and facial expressions being the only signs of communication.

'_You don't think that she's serious is she?'_

'_Impossible, the ten decreed the abolishment of the thrones millennia ago and the current ten would never agree to reestablish them.'_

'_We can't be sure about that. Most of the current heads fought in the Faunus War. If anything they all have some degree of resentment towards humanity and the common faunus.'_

'_But it wouldn't be possible. Humanity as a whole has grown stronger since then. Even if they were to be defeated, they would never accept being ruled by faunus. Hell, they are still struggling with discriminating against our kind for having animal ears for crying out loud!'_

They both glanced to their fellow Slayers, mentally agreeing that they needed to continue this interrogation without them.

"I need you three to clear out," Dante ordered, earning confused looks from Thantos, Havasu, and Crato.

"Why?" asked Crato as he got up from the wall.

"Because it's about to get very messy," Lucian answered as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Not the most valid point," Thantos retorted as he got off the table.

"Just do it for now. We'll fill you guys in later," Dante said as he looked at the silent snake.

The three didn't look like they wanted to leave but started to file out, Havasu being the last as he stopped at the door and looked back. "Make sure you find out everything you can about the kids," he said before stepping out and closing the door.

With the door closed, the entire room fell silent as the Alphas faced the snake.

"Why would you want to bring back the dominion of Alphas?" Dante started.

The snake looked up at him as she responded, "This world never belonged to humanity in the first place. Nature intended for the faunus to be the strongest and so rule. Humanity was once nothing more than livestock."

"We know that but why is it you want to return to such a time?" Lucian asked.

"Do you really even need to ask? Just look at Remnant now, four kingdoms that cover less than half the territory once controlled by the Alphas, Grimm at our doorstep, humans and faunus massacring each other over petty things such as rights and ideals. This world is falling apart," she answered.

"You make it sound as if it was the golden era but do you forget? Humans and faunus alike lived in fear, rebellions and civil wars were common, the lands controlled by the whims of absolute monarchies," Dante returned.

"And the Grimm have always been at our doorstep. It may be true that with the removal of the ten kings and queens, the territories were left to fend for themselves and so lost much of the lands since they no longer had the power of the Alphas but humanity couldn't hide under our protection forever," Lucian added. "They needed to grow on their own and that includes failure."

"So you say yet all humanity has done is fight itself like a rabid dog attacking its own tail," she replied.

"It is in their nature, which cannot be helped. All we can do now is hope to guide them from the shadows," Dante replied.

"Shadows!? Is that all you are now!? Where is the pride of the Alphas, the will of the kings!?" she shouted angrily. "You are cowards, nothing like Lady Aleera!"

"Aleera? Wasn't her name Alluria?" Dante asked with a frown.

"Yes, but that is a name that may only be used by those of her standing. It seems that out of respect for your Alpha status she used her real name," she elaborated.

"Aleera . . ." Lucian mumbled to himself, getting a puzzled look from Dante.

"Got something?" he asked.

Lucian glanced at him momentarily before closing his eyes, heavily in thought. '_Aleera . . . that name is familiar . . . but from where is it? I recall reading it somewhere . . . ah! An old library in Mistral! I can't remember much right now but maybe I can talk to Athena since she is Mistrali and might be familiar with the name.'_

"Nothing right now but I can look into it later," Lucian answered as he focused on the snake.

"The old thrones aside, what does it have to do with the children?" he asked.

The snake snickered for a moment before answering, "Rulers need soldiers, don't they?"

Lucian and Dante's eyes flared up at that, exchanging worried looks before Lucian grabbed the snake by the throat and threw her at the wall, splintering the chair as she crumpled to the ground. Before she could even try to stand Lucian grabbed her by the burnt shoulder and slammed her into the wall, cracks forming around her body as the wind was knocked out of her.

"Just what do you plan to do to them?" he growled threateningly.

"Who knows?" she replied with a bloody smirk.

"That's it, I'm ripping out her eye," Dante said as he got closer.

"No," Lucian said without looking back. "I got something better."

He held up his free hand, his nails turning into grey claws as the skin around his fingers became dark grey. He then placed his index finger against her swollen over eye, slowly trailing his claw through the skin, making the welt bleed out as the snake hissed. After a few seconds her eye became visible, her cheek and neck being coated with the released blood. Now she could look at him with both eyes.

Lucian then began to focus some aura around his index finger, a faint grey aura radiating around it. Slowly water began to condense around his finger, the liquid looking as murky as his aura, until his finger was completely coated with an inch thick layer of water. Then the water slowly began to change into a greenish hue, slightly steaming as it continued to churn around his finger.

"Dante, hold her eye open for me," he instructed.

Dante immediately complied as he stalked over and clamped one hand over her jaw while his right hand opened up her eyelids.

"Thanks," he muttered as he slowly drew his clawed finger closer to the eye of the snake as she started to tremble, soft whimpers of protest being muffled by Dante's hand.

The moment Lucian's finger made contact, a sizzling sound could be heard as the snake tried to scream and thrash, kicking at her interrogators but neither budged. After a few seconds Lucian pulled back the finger leaving her eye with the iris burned out.

Dante whistled at the sight. "What was that?"

"I can create water through my semblance and change its properties at will. This was just a little example of my turning it into an acid," he explained as he looked at the now crying faunus.

"Now, what are you going to do with the children?" he asked again as Dante removed his hand.

The snake sniffled for a few moments before answering, "They are . . . trying to create soldiers . . . that is all . . . I know."

"How?" Dante growled.

"Something about . . . gene therapy . . . it wasn't my place to know," she whimpered. "Please, don't do that again."

"How do we know you aren't lying?" he asked.

"It's the truth, I swear," she continued.

"She's telling the truth," Dante added as he took a step back.

"How do you always know if someone is lying or not?" Lucian asked with a quick look.

"Trade secret," Dante answered as he walked back over to the table while pulling out his scroll. "We need to get going, the others are waiting."

"Fine . . ." Lucian muttered as he let the acid dissipate off his finger. "What do we do with her?"

"We don't have any further need for her," he answered before he stepped out the door, closing it behind him.

Lucian looked back at the snake in his grip. He sighed as he released her and turned around. He heard her shuffle on the ground as he took a few steps towards the doors.

"You aren't going to k—"

She never finished her sentence as Lucian spun around, four whips of water connected to his fingers lashing out in a wide arc, effortlessly mincing through the head and torso of the snake in a split second. He watched as she remained still in her kneeled position before four lines of blood appeared across her body, one through her head, neck, collarbone, and shoulders. Then there was the sound of flesh and bone rubbing as the corpse fell over into pieces in its own pool of blood.

"Rest in pieces," he mumbled as he walked out, leaving the room and the memory of the snake behind him. '_We'll get to your mistress soon enough.'_

* * *

'_Is it really necessary to wear this?' _he thought as he inspected the uniform he was wearing. It consisted of a black set of army pants, a sleeveless shirt that felt like it was made of a cotton and polyester mix, thick boots, and a Kevlar breastplate shaped to his torso and divided into overlapping layers so as to not restrict his movement. It also came along with shin guards and bracers but he decided to go without either. To top it off it came with heavy, dark coat reaching just below his waist.

He then added his belt with his twin machetes resting on his lower back before staring at his feet for a moment, then taking off the boots and digging in his drawer for something else. He pulled out what looked like black leather socks with toe holes. He slipped them on, greatly appreciating the freedom and soundlessness of his kickboxing socks over the clunky boots while also going along with the black wraps adorning his arms.

He was about to grab his P320 as well but then the door opened, a fully geared Athena walking in. He looked her up and down, admiring how her nearly identical uniform complimented her figure so well, even with the trench coat. The only difference between them was that she was wearing the full uniform instead of removing the boots or additional armors. She also had her whip attached to her hip, her Savage 110 slung over her shoulder, and her M1911 strapped to the outside of her thigh. Her hair was also braided back allowing for a full view of her face.

"Ready?" she asked as she stepped closer to him before standing on her toes and planting a chaste kiss on his lips.

He smiled as he replied, "Almost."

He then turned and stepped beside his bed, picking up his Artemis bow along with a full quiver of steel arrows and 5 unique, white arrows. He tied the compressed bow onto the outside of his back along with the quiver before glancing at Athena's bed. '_I might need it to even the scales against her Wolfsbane Iron blade,' _he thought as he walked over to her bed before reaching underneath.

He pulled out Draco Ira, the blade still sealed within its sheath by Athena's crystal.

"You are bringing that blade?" she asked as he straightened up, holding the sheath in his left hand.

"Let's hope I don't need it in the end," he replied as he used his right hand to crush the crystal, the shards dissolving into dust as they fell.

He then looked at her as she walked closer to him and placed a soft hand on his cheek while giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'll be there to keep you in check if you do then," she said firmly.

He nodded, feeling some of his nerves dissipate as he tied the sheath to his left hip.

"Ready," he said to her, the two then walking out of the room and quickly leaving the dorm.

They walked in silence as they arrived to the landing pads used by Bullheads when coming to Beacon. There they could see a small group gathered along with their fellow Slayers, almost all dressed identically to themselves. He could see that Lucian and Kiara had also opted out of wearing the supplied boots, instead going with their preferred footwear though they did have the bracers and shin guards. Thantos had chosen to go with his own black trench coat rather than the smaller one given, his large broadsword strapped to his back.

Crato had all the gear supplied with his twin blades on his back and one of the bracers replaced by his personal one containing a hidden blade. Havasu on the other hand didn't make any changes to his uniform, his weapon in hand.

"Yo," he greeted casually as they strolled up to the group of Slayers and their mentees.

"About time you two made it. I thought we would need to send someone after you," Havasu replied with a grin.

"Never get a break from you, do I?" Dante deadpanned as he looked towards the mentees.

He could tell most of them were nervous, some not too subtly glancing at his shoulder. He knew they were more worried than they let on, especially considering that in their last mission, one of them came back in a coma.

"Is everyone ready to go?" he asked as he looked over his teammates.

"Ready and itching for a fight," Crato responded eagerly while the others nodded.

" . . . Are you ready though?" Kiara asked softly, her voice laced with worry.

He looked at her, knowing that the thought of him getting hurt again and possibly dying this time really frightened her.

"Yes," he replied firmly before he looked back to the mentees. "We will all make it back in one piece."

"You promise?" Velvet asked softly a she stepped closer.

"I promise," he said reassuringly to which she responded by dashing forward and hugging him. Blake soon joined as well before he enveloped both in his arms as well.

"Where's my hug?" Havasu and Crato said in unison while pouting.

"Come here," Nora quipped instantly as she tackle hugged Crato while Coco hugged Havasu, making both shut up as Ruby gave Athena a hug as well.

"Satisfied?" asked a very amused Lucian as the students let up on their hugs and stepped back.

"You want one too?" Nora asked with an excited glint in her eye but Lucian quickly shook his head saying, "I'm good."

Just before anyone could say anything else, the sound of turbines roared overhead as a black with green marked Bullhead lowered onto the landing pad. It was sleeker than a usual bullhead, the wings being set higher up the body with a shorter span, the glass of the cockpit being tinted so the pilot couldn't be seen. It also had some form of machine guns primed at the sides of the nose.

Crato whistled at the sight as some marveled at the design. "Now that is how you should travel."

The side door opened as a large man in a pilot's uniform appeared, removing his helmet to reveal dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Brick?" Athena asked in surprise.

Brick waved at them as he replied, "Heard you needed a ride, thought I could be of assistance."

"This yours?" asked a stupefied Havasu as he looked at the Bullhead.

"Yep, custom built her myself," Brick replied proudly.

Before the conversation could continue Dante cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, we need to get going. It is a 6 hour flight after all," he said.

The others nodded as they began to board the ship, Brick quickly returning to the cockpit. Dante was the last to step in and turned around as the turbines sped up, the ship ascending into the sky.

"Good luck!" Yang, Nora, and Ruby cheered, the others waving them off.

He looked down at the mentees, waving goodbye back as the doors closed. Once closed he walked over to a seat beside Athena, his fellow Slayers each making themselves comfortable as they prepared for the long flight.

Athena rested her head on his shoulder, him responding by resting his head on top of hers.

"So everyone remembers the plans, correct?" Lucian asked as he leaned against the side of the ship while he sat on the floor.

"Yeah. We track up the mountain in a search pattern until we find an opening. Dante and Athena will move at the front as scouts with their bow and sniper. Thantos and I will follow up while Crato and Kiara come around each side as supports. You follow last to assist in case of an ambush," Havasu responded.

"Good, and once we get into the mountain?" Lucian continued.

"We form three teams. Dante, you, and Athena will aim for searching out the facility for the children. Crato, Kiara, and Thantos will try to cause as much damage as possible while keeping whatever forces they have occupied. Last is me. I'll try to find any data I can and hopefully slip out unnoticed," Havasu answered.

"And remember, if you spot the bat, you do not engage," Dante added seriously.

"Right, only you have faced her semblance so you should be the one to fight her," Thantos agreed as he inspected his blade on his lap. "But if we do face her we know to avoid eye contact and her silver blade at all costs. Her semblance must be pretty bad if it helped take you down."

"Just know that if her semblance does catch you, you will be vulnerable to attack," Dante said gravely.

"Do we have any information on what kind of defenses they might have?" asked Crato as he twirled his switchblade leisurely.

"No, none of the scout teams ever made it back and the constant cloud cover blocks any overhead flights from capturing detailed images. For the lack of better words, we are going in blind," Lucian said as he stared at the roof.

"Trekking up the mountain isn't going to be easy . . . cliffs and ravines, stormy weather, and the freezing cold. I already feel sore," Athena added sourly.

"What's the name of the abandoned outpost we are heading to again?" Crato asked.

Dante gave him a glance as he took a breath. "It's name was Farglow, the light in the mountains." As he answered he felt his body tense, memories of that night surfacing. The blood, screams, those terrified eyes as a monster descended upon them.

"Dante," Athena whispered into his ear as her hand grabbed his, their fingers interlacing. "Calm down, what's past is past. You won't make those mistakes again and this time you aren't alone."

He took in another breath as he squeezed her hand, slowly relaxing his nerves before he looked down at the blade tied to his hip that even with the clothing and a sheath separating them, felt cold against his skin.

"Dante, what's wrong?" Kiara asked, drawing the attention of the others towards him.

He looked back at them with a knot forming in his throat, unsure as to whether he could stand to divulge his greatest secret and sin. He then gave a side glance to Athena, her warm eyes bringing him resolution and strength.

"I . . ." he started, his tongue feeling dry and his heart drumming away in his chest. '_They need to know! How else can I expect them to even trust me if I can't be honest with them.' _He steeled himself, his grip tightening on Athena's hand as he continued, ". . . need to tell you something. All of you."

The others waited silently, their gazes focused on him as he gathered his courage.

"You all need to know about that night . . ."

"That night?" Thantos asked with a raised eyebrow, the others looking just as perplexed as him.

Dante nodded slowly before continuing, ". . . the night a demon massacred Farglow."

* * *

She watched as the ship flew away, the speck soon disappearing over the horizon. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as her frame almost trembled with worry. Would he be able to keep his promise? What could go wrong? Could she bare to see him in the hospital again or worse? All these questions rattled within Blake's mind as she continued to look at the sky, oblivious to the others around her as they talked in hushed tones.

She then jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder, quickly turning to see soft, dark brown eyes looking at her, equally as worried about the Slayer's wellbeing. They didn't speak, they didn't need to as she felt Velvet's hand slide into her hers before giving a soft squeeze, a message of support and reassurance.

"I know you are worried but we have to trust him Blake," Velvet said softly.

". . . but what if something happens again? What if it isn't just him who's hurt this time? What if . . ."

Velvet placed her free hand on her cheek, the action momentarily stopping her from speaking. "I know . . . Oum, do I know . . . but it's a risk we all have to take. They are Slayers, the elites of hunters and that means they face more dangers than any one of us can imagine. It's hurts to know that we could have seen them for the last time but it won't do any good running ourselves into the ground worrying," she said firmly, her eyes showing her resolve. "They _will _make it back and we will be here when they return."

Blake blinked back the tears threatening to escape as she gave Velvet a small smile while nodding.

"Come on, the others are waiting," Velvet said as she gently pulled her by the hand.

The others had walked back a few paces so as to give the two some space, noting that they had more reason to be stressed then the rest. Once they rejoined the group Yang put them up to speed.

"So we were deciding on how to spend the day since the Slayers are off on their mission. Team JNPR was going to head to the gym, Coco, Yatsu, and Fox say that they were just going back to their dorm and possibly go into Vale later today, and lastly, me, Weiss, and Ruby . . ."

"Weiss, Ruby, and I," Weiss corrected.

"Whatever, we were going to head to Vale now," Yang finished.

"What for?" Blake asked.

"To see the how the first decorations in preparation of the Vytal festival!" Ruby cheered.

"This early? But we haven't even finished the Fall semester yet. The festival is at the end of Spring semester so why start preparing now?" she asked.

Weiss looked at her in a mix of surprise and disapproval. "Haven't you looked into the festival at all? The Vytal festival in itself is the final activity with the inter-academy tournament. There are all sorts of smaller events and open competitions before then, the first of which will be a small, battle-royal styled tournament just before winter break."

"And I even hear there that some other academies will be sending their own students early to compete in these tournaments to assess themselves and their opponents." Yang added with a smirk. "I'm going to enjoy duking it out and make a nice reputation for myself."

"And Weiss keeps saying that she wants to see the people arriving and something about being exposed to other cultures," Ruby commented.

"You mean get an early read on some possible opponents," Yang quipped with a grin earning a glare from the heiress.

Before the duo could continue their bickering Velvet chimed in, "Seeing the city during new arrivals is fun. You should go with your team Blake."

"What about you?" she responded, not feeling exactly like being away from Velvet.

"I think I'll go with my team today. We can all meet up later in the Vale market, ok?" Velvet suggested with a cute smile.

Blake thought about it for a moment, knowing that it would be a welcome distraction. After a few moments she nodded. "Ok, then we'll see each other later."

"Great! Then let's go," Yang cheered before looking down at Blake's side and smirking. "I do believe you need to let go of her unless you plan on dragging her along."

Blake gave Yang a confused look before realizing that she and Velvet were still holding hands. She looked at her hand before looking at Velvet, the latter looking away with a blush, before she let go of her hand and tried to cover up her own blush.

"See you later," Velvet squeaked before scampering off to join her team as they walked back towards the dorms, team JNPR waving their goodbyes as they followed suite leaving team RWBY alone.

After a minute or so of silence Ruby spoke up. "So . . . let's go!" she quipped before grabbing Weiss' hand and dashing off, all the while Weiss shouted for her to not pull so hard.

"Come on kitty, we can talk about that little scene later," Yang teased as she draped an arm around Blake's shoulder and started walking.

'_I'm doomed,' _was all Blake could think as she walked towards the transports.

* * *

**Author's Rant: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and that it got you hyped for what follows, I know I am!**

**Comments~Feedback~Review~All Welcome!**


	39. To Face the Past

**Author's Note: Yet another chapter out in less than a week (I think I'm spoiling you all). Don't get too used to it! Enjoy the feels I have so graciously provided!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"Doesn't look too bad," Havasu commented as he looked out over the side of the Bullhead.

"Too bad? I can't even tell what's up or down out there," Crato replied as he blocked the wind from his eyes.

"We should be about 15 meters above the ground," Brick called out from the pilot's quarter.

"Should?" Thantos asked incredulously as he looked towards the front of the ship where Brick sat.

"Sorry, weather's messing with my instruments," Brick replied and as if to validate his point a rogue draft pushed against the ship making the entire hull shudder.

"Just jump already," Dante said crossly from his spot behind Havasu. "We aren't high enough for a fall to actually hurt us."

"Doesn't mean I want to land face first in this storm," Crato grumbled before he stepped off the edge of the bay door, disappearing into a haze of snowfall and wind.

Thantos grumbled something but it was lost in the wind as he followed after Crato.

"Finally," Kiara muttered as she and Havasu jumped out as well. Then Lucian followed, momentarily glancing at Dante with a steady eye before he started to fall.

Dante was about to step off as well but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to face Athena, her face looking stern yet supportive. He knew why he was getting the look. She had noticed the change in demeanor of the team after Dante had told them about Farglow, the signs of shock and even anger being poorly concealed. Only Kiara had shown immediate acceptance of Dante's regret following his actions, embracing him and telling him that she would never judge him for the mistakes he had made in his past but it did little to lessen the self-loathing he felt.

He could see the looks of concern as they glanced at the blade tied to his hip, their silence and subtle eye avoidance though Lucian seemed to take the news with little change, seemingly putting the completion of the mission and efficiency of teamwork over his personal feelings towards Dante's actions. The only comfort to him was Athena's presence, the feeling of her hand in his keeping him steady as he silently bared the looks.

Now they had finally arrived at the foot of the mountains, close to Farglow's original location and the last known reports of activity before the search groups were eliminated. He looked back at Athena, knowing that she had his back . . . even if she didn't know the full details of the true objective of the mission. He gave her a curt nod before he jumped out, the rush of wind and snow drowning out his hearing as he fell.

He looked down to the forest floor as it raced up to meet him, the blurry figures of his teammates directly below him. Three seconds passed before he landed on the hard forest floor, a cloud of powder erupting around him as he straightened up. He scanned his surroundings as Athena landed beside him with a soft thud, the snow lightly crunching under her weight. They were surrounded by trees, most without leaves aside from the occasional pine, the forest floor covered in fresh snow.

The group then gathered around, waiting for their leader to instruct them. He took a breath before beginning. "Farglow should be just a small walk ahead of us. For now we will just move as a single group until we reach the outpost. From there we take up our planned search pattern and head up the mountain until we find a trail or signs of activity," he nearly shouted, the high winds and constant crackling of branches overhead threatening to drown out his voice.

They all nodded and began to walk away without another word. Dante sighed as he looked at Athena beside him, the latter giving him a faint smile before the two started to walk as well. As they walked Dante noticed that Lucian was slowly falling back until he was beside Dante. He then gave him a side look that said one thing 'We need to talk'. Dante looked to Athena as she walked just in front of him. He slowed his pace, allowing the distance between himself and the group to increase until they could speak without the chance of being overheard.

"Quite the story," Lucian began coolly.

He grunted in response before Lucian continued. "I found it weird that you suddenly got new weapons when I had never seen you so much as touch that katana but now it makes sense."

"Is that all? I thought I would at least get some sort of scolding," he replied dryly.

"Who am I to judge you? It seems to me that you are regretting it even now, though I will admit it is rather worrisome seeing you with the blade again," Lucian retorted with a slight glance at the blade. "But that's besides the point. We need to talk about . . . that."

"But we already planned on it. The others will each have their assigned tasks while we search for the children."

"And what about Athena? You know she won't be willing to do it so how do you plan on getting around that?"

Dante gave Lucian a hard look, his irritation growing, knowing that Lucian was correct. This mission, the real goal, all of it taking a turn he had hoped to avoid but Ozpin had been clear on his directive and it wasn't their place to object. He remembered the conversation clearly . . .

* * *

Ozpin sat behind his desk, his hands interlaced as he contemplated the information he had been given. Dante and Lucian each sat before him, waiting for their commander to speak. They had just finished informing him of the last details they had acquired from the snake. After what felt like hours Ozpin finally spoke.

"And the possibility of treatment through therapy, isn't that an option?" he asked calmly.

"No . . . if what the snake said is true and the children are being fashioned into soldiers, then the possibility of rehab is deemed pointless. They are in the critical phase, their minds adjusting to the instincts of the animal within while their bodies grow and develop. Their minds are too vulnerable to conditioning," Lucian answered.

"It's been several months since the kidnappings were reported and the children have likely been tortured and surrounded by aggression during that time. It's almost guaranteed that what we will find is nothing more than empty husks with one thought . . . to kill," Dante added gravely.

"And she mentioned that there was also some form of experimentation going on as well," Ozpin stated as to reconfirm himself. Lucian and Dante both nodded as they looked down, imagining just what kind of horrors the children were enduring.

Ozpin's expression darkened, the usually unreadable professor displaying emotion for the first time and it was anger . . . anger and regret. He let out a heavy sigh as he looked at the Slayers before him.

"Then I have no choice, you are to go along with the original plan. Find, infiltrate, and destroy the operation within the Razorback mountains, leave no traces but now I also give you two this order directly . . ."

Dante clenched his fist as his blood boiled. He knew what Ozpin was going to say, knew that it was the only choice, that is was the only thing they could do for the children, but still, with all his heart he wished there was another way.

" . . . Eliminate the children, all of them."

* * *

He looked back at Lucian, the wolf patiently waiting as they continued to trudge through the snow.

"I'll figure something out . . . just leave it at that for now" he said as he looked forward.

" . . . So be it. I just hope you have a plan figured out before then otherwise you might have to explain the order and trust me when I say, you don't want to let Athena or Havasu know about it," Lucian replied.

Dante nodded in agreement. He knew that Athena and Havasu were adamant on rescuing the children, though neither had truly gone into detail as to why they felt so strongly about it. The others had been more neutral in regards to the mission priorities.

They walked in silence until they could see a clearing up ahead. As the group walked out into the open they were greeted by a broken sign dangling off a small post. 'Farglow' was etched into the sign but they paid it no mind as they walked down the main road. As they walked Dante kept his eyesight trained down, trying to avoid seeing the aftermath after he'd set the whole outpost on fire and left. It didn't help, he could see the burnt remains of the buildings along his peripherals, the mostly log and brick buildings having left only the bases after the fire did its work.

His curiosity got the better of him as he started to look around in earnest, looking each building up and down. The entire outpost didn't cover more than two thirds the space of Beacon's campus, easily capable of being crossed in little more than 20 minutes at a leisurely walk. They passed a massive lumber mill, the roof having caved in with only the back wall and a few supporting beams left intact.

Then they reached the center of the outpost, the remnants of a town hall overlooking a stone square being the only distinguishable marking. As they were about to pass it Dante stopped in his tracks, his eyes nailed to the center of the square, a small boulder seemingly out of place placed there. He looked at the snow-covered boulder, roughly reaching three feet in height with one of its faces chiseled flat, a small text clawed onto the surface.

"Dante?" Athena called as she looked back, having noticed that he stopped moving. The others looked back as well but he kept his sight on the stone.

He then willed his body to move, his heart beating like a drum with every step he took towards the stone until he stood directly in front of it. He then kneeled down and gently brushed some of the snow off the stone until the text was completely legible. He then traced a finger over the words, his fingers being a perfect match to the size of the incisions. He could hear the others walking towards him but he didn't turn to look at them. Instead he did something he rarely ever did.

He bowed his head and prayed.

He didn't know if he believed in a higher force, if prayer ever solved anything, if he deserved to try but still he prayed. Not for himself, not for salvation or redemption, not even for the strength to continue on, no . . . he prayed for the spirits of those buried here, lives cut short by his hands. He prayed that they find peace, that they hear his honest apology regardless of whether they ever deemed fit to forgive him. It wouldn't matter, he wouldn't forgive himself anyways.

As he kept his eyes closed he could hear Athena kneel down to his right before she started to read the text out loud.

"Here lies the citizens of Farglow. May their spirits find peace in the wake of the mountain, their fate sealed by the sin of a demon. May they rest unhindered as their ender bares all pain, his hands bathed in their blood even as the ground bathes in his tears . . ."

As she spoke the last words Dante felt a single tear roll down his cheek, his hands clenched at his sides as he kept his eyes on the ground. He could hear as the others shuffled around, feel their eyes on him but he couldn't meet them. After some time he felt Athena's hand cup his cheek before tilting him up to look at her. He looked at her worried face even as her eyes stayed steady, the clear blue soothing him like an endless ocean.

He then noticed some motion behind him and turned to see some of the others shuffling closer before Crato kneeled down to his left and placed one hand on the stone. "You really do regret this, huh?" he asked while reading the text.

"Every day," Dante answered softly.

Crato stayed silent for a while, looking intently at the stone for some time before finally speaking.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Dante asked, unsure as to why Crato was apologizing.

"For how we were back in the ship. After hearing about what you did and that you still brought that blade with you, I couldn't help but be . . . well scared honestly."

Crato then sighed as he trailed his hand through his hair before looking at Dante. "But I haven't been giving you credit where credit is due. To walk around with such a weight yet still struggle on . . . it's commendable and in the end you trusted us enough to tell us, thank you."

Dante stared at him, at a loss for words as he looked at his teammate. The others shuffled closer as well, until they were a small semi-circle.

"Dante," Havasu started, his tone firm. "Oum knows that each of us has suffered more than our fair share and we have all committed mistakes but in the end what makes us strong is our ability to accept and learn from those mistakes. And sometimes you need to let others know, let them see your struggle and so truly begin to recover . . ."

"I agree," Thantos continued, "Though what you did was horrible . . . you show that it is a lesson you will never forget . I don't think I could have truly called you a leader otherwise."

"Leader?" Dante questioned as he looked around. "But . . . but . . . how can you trust me now? I'm a killer . . . a monster . . . a liar . . ."

"If you mean about the mission, we already know," Kiara said softly making both Dante and Lucian look at them in surprise.

Thantos scoffed before elaborating, "We are highly specialized hunters experienced in everything from assassination to thievery. Do you honestly think we wouldn't have a way to overhear you after we left Ozpin's office? Not to mention that the way you two dodged explaining what you talked to Ozpin about was a good clue too."

"But if you knew, then why didn't you say anything?" asked Dante.

"Because you are our leader and it is your order. Whether you told us or not was irrelevant . . . even if we had personal reasons against it," Athena answered with a hint of sadness in her voice. "But, because you are our leader we will follow you . . . wherever that may be."

Dante looked at her, seeing the struggle in her eyes as she came to terms with his assignment. He reached out and gently cupped her cheek, her skin being warm even with the constant winds.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you outright. I didn't want to cause you any pain," He said softly.

"Is there really no other way?" she almost whispered as she looked back at him.

He shook his head. "I honestly don't even want any of you to have to see them."

"I am not leaving you to carry out the mission on your own," Athena replied firmly. "Even if it means that I'll have to watch, I'm not going to leave your side."

He ran his thumb over her cheek, feeling his own resolve strengthen as he looked at each of his teammates, hunters seasoned and ready to fight, waiting for him to lead. He looked last at Athena, her determination being the last sign he needed to continue fighting.

He stood up, looking at the clouded sky for a moment before addressing his team. "If each of you is ready, then let's go."

They stood at attention, determined and ready to go. He nodded before turning on his heel and beginning to walk, his team following close behind. '_I'm not alone anymore . . . even if my sins will weigh on me till the last of my days I will fight on . . .'_

* * *

"Why do we always have to do these damn rounds!? No one is running around this god forsaken mountain besides us!"

"Because we were told to do so," one of the scouts replied. He hated having to answer the same question whenever the trio went on a patrol.

As he said that he readjusted the cloak supplied to him, trying his best to prevent the cold wind from getting at his neck. His two companions continued to move forward, the largest of the three grumbling about how pointless it was. '_If anything is pointless it's these ridiculously thin cloaks they gave us,' _he thought as he looked around, scanning for any movement within the forest. Nothing but snow and the occasional twig falling from the winds.

He looked back to his team. One was a large man, his shaggy brown hair spilling over his shoulders, while the other was a smaller woman, her steps hardly making a sound in the snow. They were all dressed in a similar fashion, simple camouflage pants and sweaters with a white cloak draped over the shoulders, small firearms holstered to their hips.

"Do you see anything, Meera?" he asked the woman. It was dusk already and his vision wasn't the most reliable but Meera, though human, had undergone enhancement in eyesight and hearing.

"Not much, ju—"

She never finished the sentence as her head suddenly jerked to the side, an explosion of red erupting from the side of her skull before her aura could even deflect whatever projectile had hit her. He couldn't even react as his other companion suddenly flew into a tree, a loud snapping sound echoing through the forest as he stayed lodged on the tree, his head hanging limp.

He looked at his companion is shock and horror, seeing that there was a thin metal shaft sticking out of his side. '_Is that an arrow!?_' he thought before he remembered that he was under fire. He turned on his heel and bolted away as fast as he could. He didn't care that his team had just died, that he was supposed to radio in that there were intruders. All he cared about was getting away from whoever it was that attacked them, to survive, to . . .

He suddenly felt something hit him, the force making him stumble as pain erupted through his shoulder. His aura had saved him but he knew another hit could break through so he redoubled his efforts, hastily ducking from side to side to make him a more difficult target.

It didn't last long, as he felt something larger hit him square between the shoulders. He only got a glimpse down, a black arrow sticking out of where his heart was, before everything faded to black.

* * *

It seemed as if the entire mountain had gone silent, even the winds remaining soft as the bodies bled out. Red droplets in an ocean of white and grey. They moved swiftly from their positions, each moving without disturbing the silence as they drew closer to their victims. One carried a sniper rifle over her shoulder, the other a monstrously large bow in hand.

They soon stood over the corpses, each inspecting their handy work with solemn indifference. She looked at the body at her feet, the limbs occasionally twitching as nerves fired without directive. A perfect mark, the bullet having pierced directly between the ear and eye, a painless kill. She looked to her partner as he inspected the hulking mass nailed to a tree. His arrow sticking out of the corpse's ribcage, buried up to the feathers marking the end of the shaft. He reached out and yanked the arrow out, the body falling to the ground in a bloody heap.

Her partner inspected the crimson tip, nodding contently before wiping the arrow off on the cloak of the corpse and replacing it in his quiver. He then looked at her, draconic eyes meeting sapphire gems.

"He said the tips could handle several uses. Looks like he wasn't kidding."

"I'll say. We were nearly 200 meters away and it still carried enough momentum to nail him to the tree," she replied.

"Let's search them. We might find something useful," he responded as he pulled the cloak off the large man and rummaged through his pockets. She followed suite, checking for any form of map or trail marker.

'_Nothing' _she thought irritably as she stood up and looked down the trail, the last of the scouts having fallen several meters from his comrades.

"Find anything?" she asked as she started to move.

"No."

They moved on to the last body, the ground already forming a pool of blood and ice. The body laid face down, another one of her partner's arrows sticking out of the corpse's back, directly over where the heart was. Her partner walked over to the body and effortlessly picked it up and out of the bloody pool before digging into the pockets for a few minutes.

"Bingo," he quipped as he pulled out a folded map. He unfurled the small map, a detailed depiction of the mountain and marked trails coming into view. He studied it for a moment before his eyes went wide as he pointed a finger at the map.

"They have an entire encampment just outside some form of facility built into the mountain."

"How big?"

"Can't tell, I can guess based on the distance between certain paths and entry points . . . it has to be large and extensive, probably the equivalent to a 10 story building covering several thousand cubic meters of space if it was placed on open ground," he answered.

She looked at the map, noting the distinct paths marked for patrol as well as apparent openings and exits with guard detail. She noticed that there seemed to be a rather odd exit facing a shear drop, a distance away from any of the other entrances and the encampment.

"Why would they have an exit leading off a cliff?" she asked.

"The bat has wings. It could be for her," he answered as he tapped his chin in thought.

"What's on your mind?" she asked hesitantly. She knew when he got a possibly dangerous idea and judging by the smirk plastered on his face, she wasn't going to like it.

"Just a plan for getting our resident thief into the facility unnoticed while drawing away their attention," he answered slyly before grinning.

"How . . . exactly?" She was already getting an idea of what he had planned and knew a certain teammate would hate it.

"How else . . . by making the biggest explosion possible," he answered with a grin. "I have just the thing for it."

"So much for discrete . . . so, what's the plan? Move on ahead until we get closer to the facility or wait for the others and fill them in?"

"We wait for them here, then split into our smaller teams and head to the facility," he answered as he closed his Artemis bow and then sat down on a fallen tree. She quickly joined him and leaned her head on his shoulder, taking in the heat that radiated off his body.

"I guess having you as a personal heater was a good choice after all," she commented teasingly.

"Oh haha, very funny," he chuckled back as he brought a finger to his ear, gently pressing the communicator within before speaking.

"Wave, we stopped about 1 kilometer ahead of the group. We got a map detailing the layout of the mountain. We will wait here . . .yes, I already got a plan . . . no, there aren't any other scouting parties around . . . alright," he finished before letting his hand drop.

"They'll be here in a few minutes."

"So we wait," she mumbled as she straightened up before looking at him. "Now what exactly do you have in mind for 'big explosion'?"

He gave her a toothy grin as he reached back into his quiver before pulling out a large, white arrow. It measured nearly three feet, the point resembling a drill point with red markings. '_The arrow he made out of the Ursa spike . . . then that means he is going to do that'_ she thought as she carefully traced the length of the shaft with her finger. It felt like ivory, the smooth surface and precise edges being a testament to the effort and time he had placed into making it.

Her finger then ran over something seemingly off about the arrow, a single, thin blue crystal running the length of the shaft up to the point, the very center of it being hollowed out to make room for a crystal the size of a pinball.

"You're pulling out all the stops for this, huh?" she asked as she glanced back at him

He nodded before putting the arrow away. "I think it's about time we stopped holding back any more. I'm going to fight with everything I got."

"And I'll be at your side," she added before giving him a small peck on the lips. "Always . . ."

* * *

**Author's Rant: Another step closer to the oh so anticipated mission to commence. How will the Slayers take the mountain? Who will they face? The climax draws near!**

**Comments~Reviews~Feedback~ and Predictions openly received!**


	40. Breaking and Entry

**Author's Note: I think I've kept you ladies and gents waiting long enough. To yet another chapter and oh so awaited action!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

A harsh wind rammed into him, his coat tail billowing around him as he continued to climb. Even with the coat zipped up to his cheeks and the thick sweater underneath his armor, the cold bit at his skin, numbing his fingers and ears. He continued regardless, his face contorted in an angry scowl as he gripped his next handle, orange claws sinking into the rock and ice.

He was about to pull himself higher when the outcropping suddenly gave out, his hand falling free with his body nearly following. He regained his balance as he slammed his clawed hand into the rock before him, gouging out the ice to steady himself.

"Why the fuck . . . was it I that had to scale . . . the damn cliff?" Havasu asked himself as he looked straight up, his goal still over 50 meters away.

He thought back to how Dante had given him the task of scaling the cliffs towards the exit hatch. Havasu had sweat dropped the moment Dante elaborate how he was to climb in through the hatch while the others formed a distraction at some encampment on the other side of the mountain.

He had been initially opposed to it but in the end knew that it was the best chance of him getting in undetected. Still, it sucked that he had to essentially walk around half the mountain to reach the cliff side and then climb over 150 meters to reach it.

Sure he could generate claws out of his aura, making the task of climbing relatively simple but that didn't address the constant wind, ice falls, and rockslides. He'd already dodged one small rockslide but he didn't want to press his luck. One slip and even with his large aura reserves and physical conditioning, he would end up critically injured at best, dead at worst.

"I swear . . . if I fall and die, my dead ass is marching up and killing him before I rest in peace," he grumbled as he resumed his climb.

He moved at a steady pace, trying his best to ignore the battering of the winds. He could see the slight outcropping of the tunnel exit, just a few meters ahead. He slowed his approach as he neared the edge until he reached just below the edge. He kept his claws nailed into the rock as he slowly raised his head up to see the exit of the tunnel, a thick looking iron door.

However there was an unexpected snag, there was a guard leaning against the walls of the tunnel, having a smoke. He was dressed like a White Fang goon, the obvious Grimm mask and white vest being unmistakable, some form of antlers sticking out of his head.

'_Dammit!' _He didn't know if there would be anyone else within earshot of them and knew it would take him a second too long to reach the guard before he could raise an alarm. He needed a distraction and now! '_Where the hell is that explosion Dante kept yapping on about!? I swear he had the same grin Nora has whenever she gets to blow a Grimm to smithereens! Well now would be a great time!' _Even if he used his earpiece to message his team, they wouldn't be able to hear what he'd say with the gusts of wind drowning out any noise.

Just as he was about to try jumping in and rushing the guard he heard a resounding boom off in the distance followed by several shock waves, threatening to break his grip off the rock and ice. He saw the guard jump at the sudden sound, looking around in a daze before he turned his back to Havasu as he responded to a radio call.

Havasu didn't even think twice as he pulled himself over the ledge and bolted to the oblivious guard, reaching his back before he could notice the attack. He grabbed on to the back of the head with one hand while simultaneously gouging the claws of his free hand into the guard's throat.

He shook and squirmed for a few moments before going limp. Havasu then dropped the corpse as he released the aura coating his hands, the claws disappearing in an orange mist, leaving behind his regular fingers. He then inspected the guard's gear, finding a small ID card along with the small radio. He could make use of that to get into the center of the facility. '_Now to actually get in'_ he thought as he turned towards the door.

Luckily it turned out to be open and so he cautiously walked in, taking careful view of his surroundings. It was a large hallway, the escape hatch he'd entered through being perpendicular to the hall, the floor made of tile with dim overhead lights. He didn't hear any noises or detect anyone's presence so he started to move to his right. He scanned the walls, looking for any signs or directories to give him a reference of where he was exactly.

He passed some doors, none having any distinguishing markings aside from an ID number so he ignored them as he moved on though he did pass on open one and peaked inside. It was a regular room, roughly the size of a small house room with a small twin bed, desk, cabinets, drawers but no window.

'_Faculty facilities and lodgings' _he thought as he moved on until he noticed a different door, this one smaller than the others and without the numbers. As he neared the door the lights went out, blanketing the entire hall in darkness for a few seconds before some back up lights switched on, bathing the halls in an eerie, low red light making the walls look as if they had been coated in blood. He could still see most of his surroundings but the finer edges were now blurred so he compensated by focusing his aura into his eyes, the irises giving off a subtle orange glow.

"That's better," he muttered to himself as he went through the small door leading into a spiraling staircase. He looked up and down, judging on which way to go but the choice was made for him, the sound of feet pounding on steps coming from below. '_Up it is'_ he thought before he started running up the flights of stairs, quickly reading the small labels next to every door he passed until one caught his interest.

It read 'Head Office.'

He bolted through the door and into a carpeted hall, the coloration matching the emergency lights to the point it was uncanny. He stayed close to the wall as he moved down the hall, a faint voice echoing from the end. He moved in silence until he reached the end of the hall as it opened into a larger room with chairs lining the walls and a large desk in the center with a set of double doors behind it.

He could see a small women clutching onto a scroll as she talked into it.

"Where is the security detail?" she asked with urgency.

"_We are under attack at the main hanger . . . forces occupied," _a raspy voice replied along with the sound of fighting and people screaming.

"I am aware of that!" she huffed before she flicked her finger across the screen, apparently cutting the call as she looked for another contact.

With her attention diverted, he slowly stalked forward along the wall, making his way around her until her back was to him. He then snuck forward and quick as a whip, grabbed her from behind with one hand over her mouth, smothering her surprised scream. Before she could try anything else he jerked her head to the side, a sickening pop sounding out as stopped struggling. He let her slouch forward onto the desk as he took the dropped scroll and placed it in one of his back pockets before turning towards the doors.

'_Let's see what we find'_ he thought as he opened the large doors and walked into a spacious and well-furnished room, the only source of light being a fireplace with a few logs, the flames already beginning to wane. He walked to the back of the room, a large mahogany desk drawing his attention or more accurately, the large set of files on the desk. Once he was at the desk, he started to skim through the files, his enhanced vision allowing him to clearly read the documents even in the near dark.

His eyes widened as he read on, his teeth gritting together in anger as he turned every page. '_These bastards! Just what kind of hell-hole did they come from!? And these tests . . . goals? Enhancement? Hybrids!? . . .' _He was so entrenched in his thoughts that he almost missed the sound of the doors opening and closing. He snapped his eyes up to see a large man with graying hair looking back at him, a large double-edged axe in hand, with hard brown eyes full of cruelty.

He didn't look the slightest bit worried to see Havasu, his face adorning a smirk as he took a step forward.

"I must admit . . . I'm impressed you manage to get in here while your friends fight for their lives back at the hanger leading to our humble barracks," the man said.

"And just who are you?" Havasu asked coldly.

"Diomede, a pleasure," the man responded nonchalantly.

Havasu felt his veins pop in anger. "So you are the one running the show here?"

Diomede's smirk turned into a grin. "Yes and?"

"Nothing," Havasu replied venomously as he reached over his back and drew out his lacrosse stick.

"Want to play?" Diomede asked mockingly as he adjusted the axe to his side, his free hand held forward to counter the weight, as a powerful aura began to radiate off him.

"No . . . what I want . . . is your head!" he shouted as he jumped over the desk to engage him.

* * *

'_This is going to be harder than we thought' _he mused as he readied himself. He looked towards the target, a large military style encampment laid out before a huge set of hanger gates reaching 10 meters in height and 30 meters across. The encampment itself consisted of a form of barracks, dining hall, and command center built out of logs and stone formed into two parallel lines, a road large enough for 4 cars to drive next to each other cutting through the center which lead straight to the gates. They also had a large assortment of vehicles stationed near the command center, several of which looked like they had mounted guns.

The command center had two floors with a lookout station at the top, some gunmen looking out over the camp in a leisurely fashion. The dining hall was adjacent to it, a single roomed building with glass windows on every side allowing for a clear view of the inside though it seemed to be nearly empty for now.

Then there was the barracks on the other side of the road, a three story building buzzing with the majority of the soldiers, some resting near the entrance as others patrolled the area. The entire encampment was also caked in snow and ice, a chilling wind blowing through the road making some of the soldiers scurry around faster, desperately trying to get out of the cold.

He could see soldiers of all sorts milling around, some garbed in White Fang attire, others as common mercenaries, and a few with the distinct black masks. '_Those most be the higher breed faunus that Lucian mentioned before.' _He guessed that the majority of the enemy forces would be stationed here, assuming that no one would be able to sneak into the mountain without having to cross the camp. This had led to a slight change of plan, the directive now being to keep the fight here while Dante and Athena sneak in to find and eliminate the children.

He grimaced at the thought. He remembered when he had called out Athena for not being willing to put up with the expectations of Slayers and just look at them now. He couldn't stomach such a task and he wasn't even the one that was going to do it. '_Just focus on your job now . . . focus . . . focus . . .' _he repeated to himself, his nerves slowly relaxing as he exhaled and returned his attention to his surroundings.

Kiara, Thantos, and Lucian were at his sides, each crouching down as they waited for the attack to begin. He looked over his shoulder towards a small hill shrouded in trees just a few meters away. At the very base of one of the trees he could see Dante and Athena, both taking careful aim as they picked out their targets.

He then watched as Dante began to flare his aura around his right hand, a small silver flame coating up to his fingers as he drew the white arrow back. He could see the flame seep into the crystal, running its length before funneling into the crystal at the point. It was fascinating to watch as the crystal slowly grew in size, maintaining a drill like shape until it was the size of a fist, now fully alight in silver and blue flames. '_He learned how to control the shape and size while funneling his aura into it . . . and only in a week or so' _Crato thought in awe.

He knew it was time, so he drew his blades as he kept his gaze on the arrow, a mass of silver aura beginning to radiate off the entire thing. Then Dante released it, the arrow roaring away as if it had been fired from a canon, as it raced through the sky towards its target. The soldiers stood rigid as they watched the silver streak pass over them, some dropping to the ground in fear of the unknown projectile. It looked almost like a fireball, an angry flame of silver and blue marking the tip as it collided into the gates of the hanger.

Time seemed to slow as they watched the impact, the tip making contact with the gate before a blinding flash of light came out followed by a sphere of silver energy erupted out, encompassing the whole of the gates. Then the sphere collapsed into a single point before a devastating explosion sounded out, ringing in Crato's ears as the ground shock from the force. It all happened in just a few seconds, the effects being immediate as cries of pain rang out before being abruptly stopped.

As the dust and smoke cleared to reveal the aftermath, Crato's jaw nearly hit the floor. Dante's arrow was meant to simple break open the gates, maybe take down a few of the soldiers near it as well while insuring some chaos but that wasn't the result. Instead the gates had been completely destroyed, a scorching crater with a radius of nearly 15 meters spanning in every direction leaving the entrance to the hanger wide open.

" . . . That's what happens when he uses his semblance," Kiara mumbled beside him as she got her lance ready.

"You weren't kidding when you said that if he uses it, it's always lethal," he replied as he straightened up. "Well . . . it's show time."

"Agreed," Thantos said as he readied his blade.

"Then let's go," ordered Lucian as he dashed forward, the others following close behind.

They moved in a dagger formation, Lucian taking the point as he made quick work of the dazed soldiers closest to him. Some were already shaking off the initial confusion and started to sound the alarm, reinforcements streaming out of the barracks and command center while some jumped into the armored vehicles, bee lining for the mounted guns.

"Move!" Thantos shouted as he ducked behind a wall to avoid a large firing squad, a ricochet of bullets pelting the ground where he had just been.

Lucian didn't even hesitate as he ran at the 10 man squad, weaving in and out of the bullets with unmatched agility before he jumped over them. He land in their midst and spun on his heels with his claws extended, tearing through the men like tissue paper, some momentarily flashing as their aura tried to defend them before being overwhelmed. He then bounded off towards the next group as Thantos rejoined the fray, his blade mincing through any armor the soldiers had. Crato looked around, taking note of how open they were.

The camps design forced them onto the road, the only alternative being to climb over the barracks or command center but that would be time consuming. He then noticed that one of the mounted guns, a 0.50 caliber machine gun atop an armored jeep of sorts, was aimed at him. He knew he was too far from any of the buildings to duck away so he resorted on running straight on towards the armored vehicle as the gun unleashed a barrage of bullets right over him as he ducked and maneuvered around.

He drew closer to the vehicle, the gunman trying to keep the gun trained on him but he was too fast. In a smooth motion he leaped over the vehicle as he lashed out with one of his blades, severing the gunman's head as he landed on the other side of the vehicle.

He was about to keep moving forward when he noticed some focused killing intent above him. Instinct took over as he dove to the front of the vehicle, using the armored chasee as cover while bullets rained down. He managed to sneak a peek, the attackers being two of the gunmen he saw before, stationed at the top of the command center.

He clicked his teeth in irritation. They were too far for him to reach and with the almost constant fire, he wouldn't have a chance to aim one of his throwing knives. He could always try to duck into the adjacent alley between the dining hall and command center but it would mean detouring away from the fight and leaving his team without support.

He glanced over the hood again, seeing the men prepare for another round but suddenly one was knocked off the station, a black arrow burying itself up to the feathers in the middle of his chest. Before his companion could even respond his head jerked backwards as blood and brain matter erupted out the back of his skull.

Crato snapped his vision up to see Dante and Athena perched on the roof of the dining hall, Athena still shooting while Dante looked back at him, gave a quick nod, and returned to providing cover fire. Crato couldn't help but grin as he also resumed his offensive, cutting down anyone that got in his way.

He took a quick look around to see Kiara picking up what looked like a small tank before tossing it like a sack of flour at the main entrance of the barracks, flattening the soldiers trying to come out of the building.

'_Just how many have we cut through already?' _he wondered as he regrouped with Lucian and Thantos, both splattered with blood though it didn't look like any of it was their own.

Lucian then looked at Dante and signaled for him to move up and go to the entrance before turning to Thantos and the now arriving Kiara.

"Kiara, Crato, I want you to move up and support Dante and Athena. There's bound to be more soldiers running towards the gates from the inside. Thantos and I will try to keep the ones out here busy and then regroup later on," he said as he observed some soldiers take up defensive positions along some debris from Dante's attack.

"Are you sure?" asked Kiara as she picked up a dropped sword and tossed it at an approaching soldier, nailing him in the gut.

"Posi—"

He was cut off by a tremor, the ground beneath them forcing them to hunker down, followed by a series of muffled booms.

"What the hell?" Thantos growled as they looked around, the sounds coming closer along with screams.

Then they looked back as the dining hall exploded, lumber and rock raining down on the road along with some corpses. Then from the dust and snow appeared a hulking black mass, two glowing orbs looking in their direction. The figure took a massive step, the sound being exactly as the previous booms they'd heard, the ground underneath cracking under the weight. It towered at nearly 10 meters, dwarfing some of the trees near it as it took another monstrous step, placing into in the middle of the road.

"N-No . . . way," Crato muttered as he looked at the beast. "A Litherian Minotaur . . ."

The creature truly did resemble the monster from Greek legends but this was by far worse. It feet were like those of a cow, each hoof being easily as large a small car. The torso looked mostly humanoid, aside from the thick fur that matted around its neck and upper shoulders, the fur and skin being jet black. Its arms were also enormous, dense muscle coiling underneath thick hide, ending with clawed hands capable of tearing through any fortifications.

Unlike the Minotaur of legend, this creature had a serpentine tail rather than that of a bull, the length covered in white spikes ending with a thick bone club. It also had a bone chest plate and bone mask covering up to its snout and long, curved horns, marked with countless scratches and scars. This Grimm was old, no doubt about it which meant it was experienced and that much deadlier.

"What's an S-class Grimm doing here?" asked Kiara with the slightest hint of worry in her voice, as she looked at the beast before them.

"Who knows . . . but it looks like we might have to fight it," answered Thantos as he readied his blade.

"Fight . . . it?" Crato asked hesitantly. He knew that such a creature was way over their heads, that even with all seven of them it would still be a tough fight.

As if to answer a challenge the Minotaur bellowed, its roar shaking the very mountain as the Slayers held their ground while the remaining soldiers scattered in a panic. The beast seemed to ignore the lesser soldiers as it took a step towards them, seemingly interested in tougher prey.

He was about to say something but was interrupted by Dante shouting through his communicator "_Get the hell away from that thing!" _with the sounds of blades crashing and others screaming in the background.

He looked over his shoulder towards the open hanger, Dante and Athena milling their way through dozens of soldiers. He watched as Dante jumped up, briefly looking in their direction before returning his focus to the opponents below him.

Crato then heard Lucian sigh beside him, the wolf looking intently at the Minotaur as it got closer.

"Thantos, Crato, and Kiara . . . go and support the others . . . I'll keep it busy here."

"Are you fucking insane!?" Crato snapped as he looked at the wolf. "I don't care how strong you say Alphas are, you can't take it down alone."

Another boom sounded out as the beast drew closer. He could feel his heart pound away in his chest, his hands getting clammy as he kept his gaze on the wolf. He stared back, his eyes unwavering as he sighed again.

"So then what would you have us do?" he asked.

". . ." he didn't know how to respond. This was something beyond his experience and control. He looked at his other teammates, their own concern showing as they looked between them and the monster. There was also Dante and Athena fighting alone. They needed support but Lucian alone couldn't hope to match the Grimm.

His grip on his blades tightened as he took a shaky breath, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he looked at the wolf.

"Then I'm going to fight it with you . . . partner."

Lucian's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he gave Crato a faint smile.

"Then let's do this," he said as he looked at the Grimm, only a few steps away from them.

"Kiara. Thantos. Go," he ordered as he took off his coat before readying his claws, a dark grey wolf's tail cropping out over the waistline of his pants.

Kiara and Thantos didn't seem to notice the tail as they bolted off to join the others while all Crato could do was stare. Lucian noticed it and muttered, "It's not that big a deal, now focus."

Crato shook his head as he turned to the Grimm, its orb-like eyes glaring down at them with hate.

"I'd better get a good scar out of this . . . now, let's go!" he shouted as both of them sprinted forward, ready to fight to the bitter end.

* * *

Another one cut through the center. He wheeled around with a wide swing of his machetes, lacerating anyone close to him in a wave of crimson. More bodies fell limp, joining the masses of corpses in their wake. He looked around, seeing each of his teammates as they tore through the enemy without hesitation. Two decapitated with one swing of Thantos' sword, one crushed underfoot as Kiara broke through their ranks, Athena slicing open the throat of another soldier.

They had been steadily progressing through the large hanger, the sounds of the Minotaur as it roared in rage echoing back near the entrance. He'd wanted to go back and help but knew that it would only endanger more of them and risk having his targets escape. He scowled in irritation, cursing their rotten luck. An S-classed Grimm of all things! He'd only heard of the battles against them, scores of hunters falling to them and their immense power. Even a damn Goliath was only rated as an A-class and that was simply because of their sheer size and tendency to brush off any attack.

He returned his attention to the fight around him, noticing that the enemy numbers had drastically reduced, a handful of soldiers beginning to back away as his team finished off their current opponents. He could see it in their eyes, they were scared, no terrified and ready to retreat.

He growled as he leaned forward, '_You aren't getting away'_, before sprinting through them in a blur. He moved with such practiced agility that none of them so much as noticed him pass by, each having their throat slit with a swipe of his machetes.

He slid to a stop behind them, listening as five bodies hit the floor simultaneously, his attack taking all of a second to execute. He heard Thantos whistle as he approached, his white blade stained up to the hilt in dark blood.

"Damn you're fast," he muttered as he looked at the trail of bodies left behind Dante.

"Is that all of them?" Kiara asked as she and Athena joined them.

"Looks like it. Most of their forces were outside in the barracks so that leaves a handful of guards in here," he answered as he looked around.

They had reached the end of the hanger and were deep in the mountain. He could see some access tunnels to the sides, mostly likely the only way up and some lifted walkways running the length of the hanger. There was also a smaller doorway near the end of one of the walkways though it looked like it lead into a control room overlooking the hanger, the tinted windows blocking him from making out what was inside.

'_I don't feel any killing intent and there doesn't seem to be any more soldiers coming out . . . so why do I feel so uneasy?' _he pondered as he looked back towards the entrance of the hanger, the sounds of battle echoing down to them. He took a breath before closing his eyes, blocking out the sounds and smells around him as he focused on the crystal imbedded in his chest. He let the pulses of aura radiate around him, visualizing his surroundings along with the aura signatures of his team.

He registered Thantos, Kiara, and Athena, each standing in close proximity to himself so he expanded the pulse, sensing the lingering auras of those previously dispatched. Then he felt two auras, their sensations being ones of madness and bloodlust. His eyes snapped open as he looked to the control room before the tinted glass shattered out as two huge bodies tumbled out and landed 10 meters from them.

The two figures slowly stood up, both measuring nearly 10 feet in height. The looked almost identical, their skin being an odd tone of grey with black veins popping out. They were dressed in torn black pants, nothing more while one carried a massive single-edged blade easily measuring 8 feet. Their hair was matted and grimy, the stench of decay wafting off them in waves while they gave them feral grins, yellow fangs already stained with some blood. To top it off they both had a set of dog ears, most likely Doberman, which twitched and swiveled around as their dark eyes looked at them.

Even with their horrid appearance, he recognized them and scuffed at it, wishing it had been anyone else.

"Rios and Aros . . ." he growled making the two sneer.

"Oh and the infamous Silver Demon graces us with his words . . ." the one holding the blade, Rios, replied.

"And look who's with him, the hot piece of ass known as the Bloody Queen," his brother, Aros, added making Kiara growl in response.

"Oops, looks like I hit a nerve," Aros mocked.

"Dante, just who are they?" Athena asked as she took a defensive stance.

"They were from Othrys Academy, part of a senior pack we took down in our junior year," he elaborated.

"Bunch of weaklings," Kiara added with an angry glare. "All those two did were hide behind others and talk . . . if I remember correctly, they were labeled 'The Yapping Twins'."

At the mention of the nickname both twins snarled like rabid dogs, their aura radiating a sickly black and green coloration.

"Not anymore . . . now we are the stronger ones," Rios said as he hefted his blade.

"And we are going to prove it by slaughtering you like livestock," Aros added as he cracked his knuckles.

'_This is bad . . . the aura coming off them is no joke. I'll have to fight them with Kiara while Athena and Thantos look for the children' _Dante thought as he prepared to attack but Rios beat him to it. Like a cannon ball, Rios rushed him with his blade trailing overhead before bringing it down to cleave Dante in half.

Dante was going to respond by sidestepping the sword and returning with his own attack but then he backpedaled as Thantos rushed in front of him, his sword meeting Rios' with a loud clang as sparks flew.

Thantos looked over his shoulder at Dante, his frame shaking as crack spread from around his feet due to the immense pressure.

"Go . . . we'll handle . . . these two . . ." he said through grit teeth. He then looked back at Rios and grunted as he pushed the blade off before swinging back with his sword, colliding again with Rios' blade but this time forcing him back, his feet leaving a skid mark on the hanger floor along with a very surprised face.

Dante was about to protest but then at the corner of his eye he saw Kiara lunge forward to intercept Aros, slamming a powerful fist into the side of his face and sending his massive body careening into a wall 15 meters away. She then glanced at Dante, letting him know that it was ok, before returning her attention to the twin as he pulled himself out of the wall with a very angry glare on his face.

He clicked his teeth in irritation but caught Athena's eye before gesturing for her to move towards one of the access tunnels and then following behind. He didn't look back as he heard the sounds of swords colliding and rock being crushed, lest he turn and join the fray himself. '_All of you better survive . . . we have a promise to keep' _he thought as he and Athena pulled up to a door leading to a staircase. They looked at each other for an instant before nodding and beginning to ascend.

* * *

**Author's Rant: And so the battle begins . . . there will be pain, their will be heart ache . . . and blood . . . **

**I'll say this now, the next chapter will probably be the darkest one of the whole volume. I will place warnings before the specific passages to the particularly . . . graphic scenes. I didn't rate the story M for nothing.**

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed and look forward to the next one!**

**Comments~Reviews~Feedback (even if it isn't nice, I'll take it with a grain of salt) all appreciated!**


	41. Choices

**Author's Note: Here we are with the next chapter. Like I said in the previous chapter, this is probably one of the darkest chapters in this volume. I have to say one thing in regards to this chapter . . . if the suspense kills you blame my beta yuvinile, it was his idea to add so much suspense (does a great job looking through my chapters and giving me ideas though). Anyways, enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"I'm just saying . . . if he didn't do anything wrong, then why was he running from the police?"

" . . ." Blake couldn't think of anything to counter Weiss' argument. She had a point, the strange monkey faunus that had run past them near the docks was running from law enforcement. She returned her gaze to the heiress, the latter waiting expectantly.

"That may be so but calling him a degenerate or rapscallion is unnecessary."

Weiss scoffed at that as they resumed their walk to the dorm. They had just arrived back on campus after a full day in the city, exploring the local shops and visiting the docks to see some of the new arrivals. Most turned out to be simple tourists, leaving them somewhat disappointed. Then there had been some commotion as two police officers tried to apprehend someone. It had turned out to be a blonde monkey faunus hanging of a street lamp.

The girls weren't exactly sure was it that they were even after him though Blake had caught him muttered something about being 'a great stowaway' before he jumped off the lamp and ran past them though not before turning to face her directly and winking while he ran. It had become even wilder when Weiss had shouted to follow him, thinking that he might possibly one of the transfers. It hadn't gone well as they rounded a corner after him only to have Ruby crash into some girl with a large bow tying her orange hair back.

That girl who later introduced herself as Penny was an oddity, seemingly lacking any concept of personal space, judging by how close she got to Ruby when asking if she really was her friend. Blake didn't know if the others had the same idea but she personally found the girl creepy. Her speech pattern almost sounded robotic, she didn't have much of a scent, and Blake could have sworn she heard a faint mechanical humming coming from her.

She shook her head to rid herself of that train of thought. '_You're overthinking this. You were bound to meet some oddballs around here anyways, especially with the transfers beginning to arrive.' _She returned her attention to her surroundings, their dorm room coming into view. They quietly walked in, each taking a seat on one of the two bottom beds as Weiss resumed from where she left off.

"So then what would you have him called?" she asked hotly as she crossed her arms.

"I don't know, something less degrading," Blake tried to defend but the tide was against her.

"Can you two just drop it already?" Ruby asked as she looked between them.

"Yeah, it's not like it even matters that much," Yang agreed as she pulled out some comic and began to flip through the pages.

"But it is," Blake retorted as she looked at Weiss. "It shows that you still have prejudice against the faunus."

"That isn't true," Weiss replied with a glare.

"Isn't it? You don't know anything about him and yet you don't hesitate to belittle him."

"And you rush to his defense even though we both know that he had to have done something for the police to chase him. If I'm being biased then so are you!" Weiss nearly shouted before adding, "He was probably some sort of thief or something."

The last comment was it for Blake. She stood up and turned to the door, muttering "I need some air," before walking out, slamming the door behind her.

She didn't bother stopping as she heard Yang call after her, needing to get some space from the heiress before she lost it. '_That arrogant, prissy, little girl! Just who does she think she is? If Lucian, Kiara, or Dante had been around she wouldn't have dared say something like that!'_ She clenched her hands as she walked out of the dorms into an open courtyard, making her way to the statue in front of the auditorium.

As she walked she looked up at stars, night having arrived only a few hours ago. It was partially cloudy, leaving only a few stars visible but the sight was enough to calm her down however slightly. She then stopped beside the statue, taking a seat on the stone railing surrounding it as she continued to look up at the sky.

'_At least it's nice out . . . even if I can't see all the stars. Still, what should I do when I go back? If Weiss doesn't apologize then I'm seriously going to be pissed.'_ She let out an irked sigh as she scratched at her bow, the material beginning to irritate her ears as they twitched underneath. '_Maybe letting them out will make me feel better' _she mused as she scanned her surroundings. Finding nothing she slowly undid the bow, the soft fabric rolling off her head to reveal her cat ears, the sensation of a soft breezing making them twitch more.

She was about to sigh contently but then someone spoke.

"I knew you'd look better without the bow."

She reacted in an instant, jumping into a combat stance while scanning her surroundings thoroughly, looking for the source of the voice. She then noticed some trees rustling a few meters away from her before a blonde figure dropped out of it, looking at her with a mischievous grin. '_How did I not notice him before?' _she wondered before she noticed that he was standing downwind of her, meaning that she couldn't get his scent.

He straightened up as he walked towards her with arms raised at his sides, showing that he didn't mean any harm so she lowered her own arms but kept a careful eye on him. He also lowered his arms as his walk became more relaxed, until he stood just a few feet from her, not too subtly looking her up and down. That action alone was already starting to irritate her but she tried to ignore it.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked sternly.

"The names Sun Wukong, at your service kitty," he replied with a grin.

"Don't call me kitty," she retorted with a glare before continuing. "I'm Blake Belladonna."

"Cool . . . so what's up? You looked kind of annoyed when you came out here," Sun asked.

"I could say the same thing. Last time I checked only students or staff should be around here and visiting hours are only during the day," she replied.

Sun shrugged as he answered, "Just trying to find some company."

"For?"

"To tag along in some fun," he replied with a grin.

"Not interested," she replied as she began to turn away.

"Aawh . . . and here I was thinking that you would enjoy beating up some White Fang with me," Sun complained.

Blake stopped in her tracks as she looked back at the monkey. "White Fang?"

Sun seemed to perk up as he explained. "Yeah, after I ditched those cops I hung around some of the more shady bits of town. Happened to cross some goons talking about some big hit going on tonight near the docks."

"And how do you know that the White Fang will be there?" she asked as she looked at him suspiciously.

"Well who else could it be? Isn't it like their thing to attack and steal dust shipments, especially if it's from the SDC?" he replied confidently.

"The White Fang aren't just thieves!" she snapped at him making him take a step back. "They're misguided fauna striking out at a world that discriminates against them!"

"Wow easy! I didn't know you'd be so defensive of them," he replied as he raised up his hands, trying to placate her.

Blake was slightly taken aback by his response, wondering why in fact had she been so quick to defend them when she knew the truth behind their origins and the extent of the crimes they had committed against their fellow fauna. '_What would Dante say if he heard me say that?' _she wondered as her ears flattened down. They remained silent for some time until Sun spoke again.

"Fine, if you don't want to tag along I ca-"

"I'll go," she cut in.

Sun looked slightly surprised but soon grinned again. "Great, then let's go. The hit is less than an hour," he continued as he turned and started walking away, in the direction of the cliffs and the city beyond.

As she started to follow, she couldn't help but wonder if it really would be the Fang or someone else. '_I need to see if it is them or not . . . and as a huntress I should put a stop to it if I can.' _She considered messaging her team to let them know where she was going but she knew that they would try to come along and she didn't want to possibly put them in danger. She resorted to dealing with it alone.

* * *

The only sounds was that of their footfalls as they raced up the stairs, each stride skipping several steps in their hurry. Dante kept his senses focused, not too keen on being blindsided by any sudden trap. They rounded another corner of the stairs and were about to continue up but then Dante noticed a door slightly ajar leading into a dark hallway. The door wasn't anything out of the ordinary compared to the others they had passed yet what caught his interest was what was holding the door open.

He looked down and recognized it as part of a hand, bloody and mauled to the bone. He held one hand back, gesturing for Athena to hold back as he slowly opened the door fully to a horrid sight. The hand was only connected to an arm, the body seemingly missing. He stepped into the hallway as the scent of blood and decay soaked the atmosphere. He could see several bodies and severed limbs scattered along the length of the hallway, deep claw marks and blood splatter decorating the walls.

He felt Athena brush up against him as she slipped through the space between him and the door before stepping into the hall as well, taking in a sharp breath as her eyes took in the sight, though she couldn't see the full scope of the damage due to the low, red lighting. It seemed that after his initial attack there was some sort of power failure and now only back up lights allowed for any non-faunus to have a faint idea of what was around them.

"What happened here?" she asked as she covered her mouth and nose with the hem of her coat.

Dante was about to answer but then a faint growling came from down the hall. He spun on his heel as he drew his machete. There, just a few meters ahead of them was some movement. A small body reared up from kneeling down beside a severed leg.

It looked like a small girl, possibly 6 or 7 years old. She had wild brown hair trailing over her shoulders, a torn and bloodied hospital gown covering down to her knees. He could also see small antlers coming out of her head, the points dripping dark crimson. Her chin and chest was smeared in blood as well.

Dante looked at the rabid faunus, watching as the angry eyes looked back at them with hate. They stared off for a few seconds before the child snarled as she ran at them on all fours. Dante didn't move as the child leapt at him, instead he lashed out with his free hand and caught the child by the throat.

She started to thrash and squirm, desperately trying to claw at his face but kept falling short. He could see that there was no reason left within the child, no semblance of the humanity that one persisted.

'_It . . . has to be done.'_

In one swift motion he ran the child through with his sword, piercing the heart for an instant kill. He watched as the light left the child's eyes, her body falling limp in his grasp.

He pulled the blade back out before slowly lowering the girl's body onto the floor. He then closed her eyes, hoping that in the end she would find peace beyond this place of horrors.

He looked back over his shoulder to see Athena. She had her eyes closed while her gun trembled in her hands. He wished he could have spared her this, but there was no other way, it had to be done.

"Come on," he said gently. She slowly opened her eyes to meet his. He could see the pain, the desire to forget what she had just seen. Sadly, this was not the place or time to do so.

'_There's no doubt about it now . . . their minds are gone, nothing but soulless destroyers' _he thought as he moved down the hall, stepping over the gore and pools of blood. They walked in silence, scanning for any more signs of life but so far everything was silent.

"The rest must have moved on from this hall," he said as he crouched down to inspect the body of a man, his hand holding a stained card next to what looked like elevator doors.

He took the card, noting the black bar on the back, before looking at a small scanner beside the doors. He pressed the card up to the scanner but nothing happened.

"Maybe it doesn't work with the power out and all," Athena said behind him.

"Maybe . . . but I need to be sure . . ." he said as he dropped the card.

" . . . If they made use of the elevator and which way they went," he answered as he placed his fingers between the slight spaces separating the doors.

With a small grunt he started to pry the steel elevator doors apart, the metal crumpling under the pressure until he created an opening big enough for an entire body to fit through easily. He stuck his head in and looked up, the smell of blood coming from above. He could also make out the bottom of an elevator cart, some blood seeping through the space separating the cart from whatever floor it had stopped at.

'_They went up.'_ He looked back at Athena and was about to tell her that they would have to climb but was interrupted by the sound of something dragging against metal. They both looked down the hall, just now noticing the busted open door leading into another hallway.

They walked quietly as they reached the door, Dante momentarily glancing at Athena before he fully opened the door and walked into the next hall, the layout completely different from the one behind him. Instead of simple concrete and several rooms which looked like small offices from what he could tell, this hall was larger with several iron doors running the length of the halls to his left, almost all ajar.

To his right were other, larger rooms with glass walls rather than concrete allowing for full view of tools, tables, and lab vials used in the rooms. The end of the hall seemed to have another set of elevator doors, the surface covered in claw marks.

"This is where they . . ." Athena murmured as she looked at the operating rooms in horror, some of the tables and tools still stained in old blood.

Dante didn't answer, his senses focused on the sound of strained breathing. He shifted to his draconic eyes as he walked down the dim hall, his machete held steadily in his right hand as he neared one of the doors, peeking inside to see a small figure hunched over near the back wall. It looked like a young boy, clothed in a torn hospital gown, matted brown hair nearly reaching his shoulders with a pair of dog ears sticking out of the top of his head.

Finding one of his targets he opened up the door enough for him to enter, the sound making the boy jump as he looked at Dante with wild green eyes, his pupils dilated as they focused on him. Dante felt a knot form in his gut as he took in the boy's appearance. His face was covered in scratches, most likely self-inflicted, with teeth sharpened to points flashing as he breathed through his mouth, his hands ending in dark claws along with his toes.

Overall he looked like a rabid dog with a tannish aura radiating wildly along his frame, ready to attack anything in sight, a rabid dog he had to put down. He sighed as he took a step towards the boy, his blade poised to end him quickly and as painlessly as possible. As he neared the boy didn't move, only staring at him with eyes full of fear and something else Dante couldn't place.

He stopped as he loomed over the boy, feeling pity for him as he lifted up his blade. Before he could bring it down the boy spoke, "Are you going . . . to kill me?"

Dante felt his arm freeze as he spoke, his voice sounding so dejected and sad. He stared at the boy, unable to bring himself to answer but it seemed that he didn't need to.

The boy did the most unbelievable thing, he faintly smiled. ". . . Please do . . . I want this nightmare to end . . ."

Dante stood rigid, his mind finally placing what he saw in the boy's eyes. It was hope, hope to be set free from this accursed reality he faced, an end to his torment.

"Please . . . do it," the boy asked, his tone growing urgent. "Kill me."

Dante's arm was trembling, his eye nailed to the boy's own. '_Why? Why should they have to suffer so? Why do I have to do this?' _he asked himself.

His hesitation seemed to agitate the boy, his heart rate accelerating as he stood up on trembling legs.

"Do it . . . kill me now!" he begged as he took a step towards Dante.

Dante still wouldn't move.

The boy then growled before he crouched down. His eyes narrowed, losing their innocence as bloodlust took over. His ears flattened back as he snarled at Dante, his claws grating against the metal floor.

Then the sensation came. Killing intent, pure and unyielding, washed over Dante. Though it felt like any other killers, Dante could tell how confused it was, a lashing out of a lost soul.

Whatever sanity had remained had been consumed, anger taking up what remained of the void.

'_Just a body aimed to kill . . .'_

"Kill . . . Me!" he said snarled as he leapt forward, his claws extended as he aimed for Dante's eyes.

In that moment Dante moved, his action feeling like nothing more than taking a single step but to the child, it was as if he had disappeared only to materialize behind him. Before the boy had even landed Dante effortlessly cleaved through his neck, severing his head from his body before the pain could even register. The body and head landed with a dull thud, blood squirting out of the freshly made cut, forming a pool around the body.

Dante looked at the forming pool in silence, his grip of the machete tightening as the edge of the blade dripped crimson. Another innocent added to his list.

'_Only a monster can kill the innocent.'_

He walked over the body and back into the hall, closing the door behind him.

He looked around but couldn't spot Athena so he closed his eyes, allowing himself to visual through his aura sense, until he detected her presence farther down the hallway as well as another aura signature. He opened his eyes as he looked in the direction of her aura, noticing that she had gone into another one of the other cells.

He knew that she had found another one of the children and he already hated himself for what he was going to have to do. He moved down the hall, passing by several open cells until he reached the room Athena was in. He walked in, his steps coming as muffled thuds as he neared her with her back turned to him. She was kneeling down in front of what looked like a small girl, the child looking back at her while softly sniffling.

Once Dante was just a few feet away the girl looked past Athena's shoulder, allowing him to fully see her face. She was young, probably less than 10 years old with rosy skin and a small nose, and a scar running down the left side of her chin, reaching to about the end of her jaw. Yet was caught his attention most were her ears and eyes. Her ears were almost twice the length of human ears, tapering to fine points, covered in a very short, fine fur, the coloration being marble white, surrounded by waves of white hair that almost reminded him of Weiss.

But her eyes, her eyes were what truly got his attention. They were a bright scarlet, almost as if they were glowing, with narrowed pupils giving her an almost demonic appearance.

He looked at her, taking in her appearance and presence, his body and mind finding one conclusion to this strange girl. Everything about her was wrong! Her scent, her appearance, even the sensation of her aura radiating around her.

She wasn't natural, she had to be destroyed. She was an abomination, something that had been created by humans, everything in his being told him so. He focused his eyes on her, preparing to end her then and there but then the girl's eyes widened in terror before she screamed.

* * *

'_Why . . . it's scary and cold . . . please . . . help . . .'_

She was in the corner of a dark room, clutching onto her knees as she kept her eyes shut tight, trying to ignore the sounds she had heard just outside the door. Cries of pain and anguish, the sound of bones breaking and flesh being ripped apart. Then there was the sound of growls and sharp objects trailing over the cold metal of the halls before a deathly silence set in.

She was too terrified to even dare move. She didn't know if whatever had made the sounds was gone or not. She could hear better than she'd ever been able to before but all she could hear now was her own rapid heartbeat. Her sensitive nose couldn't distinguish anything either, only the smell of blood permeating from the hall.

'_How did this happen?'_

These last few days have been a blur to her, pain and fear obscuring her sense of time. Her mind was still a jumbled mess. She remembered snippets of what happened around her. Being in some large building with many children, being taken in the night by some hooded monsters, then the small room and the cold doctor. She remembered hearing other children cry, some sounding like forest animals.

Then there was the memory of being strapped down to a cold table and the cold doctor stabbing her with something followed by pain . . . so much pain. Next came a flash of the lady with the huge teeth, biting into her arm and then something flowing into her. She didn't know what it was but it seemed to numb some of the pain, if only by a small margin. The next thing she knew she woke up in this cold room. Her body ached, every movement being met with a flare of pain.

Then it started.

She went into a coughing fit followed by dizziness and nausea, forcing her to remain on her back. She could feel something happening to her ears, a constant itch accompanied with an entire array of sounds she couldn't perceive before. She could hear the other kids mumble to themselves and cry, hear the doctors whisper as they passed by her cell, hear their heart rates rise and fall whenever the cold doctor appeared.

She couldn't sleep in this world of constant noise and it only got worse. Soon her eyes and nose also became too sensitive, the softest lights feeling like burning suns, forcing her to keep them closed for several days before she could tolerate the low lights set whenever the doctors left to rest. She had been finally adjusting to these changes while waiting for a regular check up when suddenly everything started to shake. She also heard what sounded like a large explosion and the lights going out before some of the doctors started to shout in confusion.

She didn't know what was going on or why, all that she knew was that a few moments after the lights went out someone started to scream in pain along with the smell of blood. She caught someone else scream something about the locks 'being electronic' and how 'they're loose!' along with more screaming. That had been several minutes ago and still she remained in her corner, hoping that someone would come for her.

'_I want to go home . . . mommy . . . daddy . . .'_

She couldn't remember where they were or why they weren't here now, she could barely even remember what they looked like. All she knew was that she was alone in the cold with some kind of monsters outside.

There was the sound of something scraping against metal making her clutch onto her knees even tighter, small tears starting to run down her face.

'_. . . Help . . .'_

There was silence for some time but it was then broken by the sound of the door to her cell opening. She could hear someone take a sharp breath as they took a few steps closer before stopping. She slowly opened one eye to see a lady not dressed like the doctors. She had some strange looking clothes and big coat on, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and big blue eyes looking back at her.

They stared at each other for some time until the lady knelt down while reaching out with one hand, giving her a soft smile.

"Hey there," she said warmly as she looked at her.

The lady just looked at her, not moving any closer while keeping up the smile.

She stared at the lady, unsure of what to do. She didn't look cold or scary but she did smell like blood. She could even see it on the lady's coat.

The lady then slowly extended a hand towards her, whispering, "It's ok . . . I'm not going to hurt you."

She didn't know whether to believe her or not but she didn't have the same look in her eyes as the doctors. They seemed to always look at her with disgust and disdain but this lady's eyes looked warm and caring. She felt like that look was familiar . . . that someone had once looked at her like that.

She slowly started to get up, her legs trembling as she dragged them across the floor, hesitantly stepping closer to the blue-eyed lady. She stopped when she was close enough to touch the lady's hand with her own shaking one.

The lady smiled even more as she gave her a soft squeeze before beginning to look her over. While the lady did that she noticed someone else behind the her. It looked like a large man dressed the same clothing as her, his frame blocking out the door. She looked up in a daze at his hair, the silver color reflecting some of the dim red hues from the lights.

But then her gaze drifted down to his eyes and her heart almost stopped. They were the most terrible thing she'd ever seen. Cold, emotionless silver eyes, the pupils being crossed slits, surrounded by pools of blood. And that's when she felt it, a burning sensation as if she was standing in front of a roaring fire, ready to consume her in the blink of an eye.

Before she could even think she screamed and ran back against the wall, every fiber in her body telling her that she needed to get as far as possible from the silver monster. Her legs buckled under her as she looked back at him, the lady now facing him with one of her hands held up.

She couldn't register what they were saying, her fear threatening to drive her mad as she started to cry. They were arguing, the lady being cut off by the monster and then looking down. The monster moved her aside, his eyes returning to look at her. She didn't know why or how she knew, but she knew that he was going to kill her and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

He walked closer until he stood over her, his body being the only thing she could see. She looked up at him, her entire body going numb from sheer panic as she stared at those silver orbs. He then pulled out a small sword of some sort, raising it over his head as he looked at her.

That's when their eyes locked.

She saw as an entire tirade of emotions passed through his eyes. One moment it was the look of a monster ready to kill, then his eyes shook with pain and regret. For a moment he looked so confused, his own heartbeat starting to rise, his arm holding the sword starting to tremble. Then it was all replaced by anger, unrelenting and aimed at her.

'_Why . . . me?'_

For a moment she stopped crying. She couldn't feel anything, her entire body going numb, as if accepting her unavoidable fate. She could see his teeth grow into fangs as he grit them, claws replacing his nails as he looked at her but she remained silent.

It felt like hours had passed as they stared at each other, the world surrounding them being nothing more than an empty void. Then he shouted something before bringing the sword down.

Even as it came down, the edge dripping in blood, all she could do was look at the monster's eyes, only one thought coming to mind.

'_Why does he look so sad?'_

* * *

**_Author's Rant: First off, if anyone has any comments on the bit with Blake, allow me to explain. Though the story is heavily au, I do want events from the canon still taking place. I simply created a slight difference and shifted the time frame so that it all correlated. I know it seemed a little forced but I still felt like the scene was necessary._**

**_Now as for the rest of the chapter . . . It was pretty dark but also crucial to how the story will progress. I still hope everyone enjoyed it, hope to see you all in the next one!_**

**_Comment~Review~Critics~All welcome! _**


	42. Faces Old and New

**Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter of shadow ops! Not much to say before hand other than enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I d not own RWBY**

* * *

"Head's up!"

She ducked as she heard the words, the monkey faunus jumping over her as he charged towards their laughing opponent. The blonde split his staff into dual nun-chucks as he engaged Torchwick, the latter responding with his own cane.

Blake couldn't keep her eyes on their fight, her own hands full with several White Fang. She weaved in and out of their attacks, easily incapacitating several of them with well-placed slashes and kicks. It was at times like these that she truly appreciated the training of the Slayers, even if it always left her pained and exhausted. Before she would have faltered at the idea of going up against nearly 30 opponents with only Sun as support but now they were little more than annoyances.

She was well above them in both strength and skill, the point driven home when one of the Fang tried to block one of her slashes, his arms buckling under the pressure before his body was sent tumbling across the ground. She could also feel their hesitation to fight her, seemingly becoming aware of the difference in ability but they continued on, keeping her too preoccupied to deal with the real threat, Roman.

She stole a glance at Roman and Sun, the two locked in combat that was clearly tilting in Roman's favor, judging by how he jested while deflecting Sun's attacks before countering with his own. '_I need to get over there,' _she thought as she kicked another Fang square in the gut, her body crumpling to the ground without another sound.

She knew Torchwick would try to escape soon enough. Their robbery was a bust and with the dust round he had used to separate himself from her when she first snuck up on him, there was bound to be police on their way. She just needed to make sure that he couldn't get away before then.

She maneuvered around two more Fang as they tried to attack in unison, using a leg sweep to trip up the closest one before driving the pummel of her blade into his companion's head, knocking him out. She then backpedaled, using the moment of rest to assess how many Fang were left.

'_Around 12 or so, 15 if I count the ones recovering from Sun's earlier attack.'_ She was about to charge at the assembling group but then heard the distinct sound of a skull hitting the floor, the noise making her flinch as she looked over her shoulder. There was Sun straining to get back on his feet with Roman stalking forward, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.

She didn't think twice as she sprinted towards them, nearly catching Roman by surprise as she spun her blade and sheath around, forcing him to step out of range. She then glanced at Sun behind her, a nasty tear bleeding above his left eye from Roman's strike. He managed to stand but she could tell it was an effort to not fall over again. '_This is bad . . . I can't fight Roman and the Fang at the same time!'_

She grit her teeth in frustration as Roman drew closer with the Fang at their back, effectively surrounding them.

"Looks like playtime is over," Roman chuckled as he pointed his cane at them.

Before he could fire there was a shout, "Hey!"

They all looked towards the source of the sound, a familiar figure in a red hood standing atop one of the storage buildings. '_Ruby? How did she get here?' _Blake wondered.

"Why hello little red, isn't it past your bedtime?" Roman returned.

Ruby didn't reply, instead momentarily looking back at someone with her. The moment she looked away Roman aimed his cane at her, firing off a red dust round and hitting her before she could notice. Blake watched in horror as the round hit her dead on and blew her back. Blake felt her pupils shift to slits as she glared back at Roman, the latter laughing at having caught Ruby off guard.

'_No one hurts my team and gets away with it!' _She pounced at Roman, cutting his laughing session short as he brought his cane up to block an overhead strike. She heard what sounded like pavement breaking and several cries of pain behind her but she didn't turn to see, her attention being focused on Roman.

They started to exchange attacks, Blake taking most of the offensive while Roman backpedaled. She could see his irritation at being pushed back, tell how he was relying on deflecting or dodging her strikes rather than blocking them head on. She couldn't help but smirk as she kept the pressure, knowing that sooner or later she would break through his defense. He seemed to realize that as well, his eyes urgently looking around for any escape route.

As they continued on, Blake saw several Bullheads fly overhead, some dropping off reinforcements while some began to fire down at them. Then she heard what sounded like a powerful discharge before glimpsing at a green beam of energy as it cut through one of the Bullheads. Blake couldn't help gawk at the sight as it crashed before her attention was aimed at the source of the beam. It was the strange girl they'd seen in Vale.

Dressed in a short greyish dress, long sleeve shirt, some form of black leggings going to mid-thigh, and a bow tying back her orange hair though this time she was also swinging around several odd blades that seemed to float in thin air. '_Was she the one that was with Ruby on the roof?'_

Too caught up in her confusion she didn't notice that Roman had gained some distance from her, running towards a Bullhead that hand dropped down for him to escape. She noticed his retreat too late, by the time she started to run towards him the Bullhead was gaining air.

She cursed herself for having looked away but knew there wasn't anything else she could do, not now at least. In that moment she remembered that she hadn't seen Ruby since Roman shot her. She turned back towards the storage building before running, searching for her leader.

* * *

She ran at the wall and began to cower while crying, hiding her head in her knees as Athena snapped up straight, being surprised by the girl's sudden panic. She whirled around to face Dante, her own eyes momentarily flashing with worry as she took a step back.

She slowly raised one hand up in front of her while glancing back at the girl before looking back at him with pleading eyes. He already knew that she was going to say but he couldn't allow it . . . the child's existence must end.

"Dante . . ." Athena began.

"No," he cut in.

"Dante please!"

"I have my orders . . ."

"But she hasn't gone mad! Look at her! She's just a scared little girl!" Athena defended while taking another step back to shield the girl.

He walked forward. "She is a girl who had her entire life ripped from her by a shadow society hell-bent on causing chaos. She has been subjected to who knows what and experimented on in hopes of being turned into a weapon," he said in an emotionless voice.

"But we can help her!" Athena replied with a quivering voice.

"And do what? Take her back to her parents? Like they would want her back looking like that," he retorted, his voice like ice.

" . . ." Athena couldn't think of anything to reply, her eyes remaining locked with his.

"She would just grow up being despised and rejected by all . . . it needs to be done," he said softly as he stepped up to her and placed his left hand on her shoulder.

"But . . ." He could see tears threatening to break out as she looked at him desperately. It pained him to see her like that and even worse knowing that he in a way was causing it.

He grit his teeth as he closed his eyes and slowly pulled her by the arm, out of his way. She didn't voice any protest but did try to resist his pull. A futile effort, his strength being too much for her to possibly stop.

He then opened his eyes, the girl still cowering while Athena now stood to the side, her face aimed down with her hair obscuring her eyes from his view but he could see some tears trail off her chin. He could see how her aura seemed to dim, the normally radiant blue of it looking pale to reflect her state of mind.

He walked past her, towards the girl as she began to whimper, her red eyes looking at him with sheer panic gripping her. He walked closer until he stood over her, his form casting a dim shadow on her. As with the dog boy before he slowly raised up his machete, this time hoping to finish the deed as soon as possible.

The girl looked back at him as her whimpers died down, her fear freezing her in place even as her aura, an odd shade of rosy white, flowed almost rigidly across her body. He recognized that state, her fear giving way to the resolution that she was about to die and nothing could change that.

He then looked into her eyes but the moment he did so, he felt his heart drop.

She looked so small and innocent, a victim in this twisted series of events. A life cursed to a short end at the hands of a monster. Truly was fate so cruel as to make him bare the sight before his hand could fall and bring an end to this?

'_Just do it already! What's one more life? I've killed hundreds! Why . . . why . . . WHY!?'_

Everything in his body and mind screamed to kill her, to end it there, but he couldn't move his arm. His body felt numb, he couldn't hear anything, couldn't speak, and he couldn't so much as breathe. All he could do was stare at those eyes.

' . . . _Kill her . . .'_

Eyes that showed him something he remembered too well. They were the eyes of an innocent looking at their end, an end delivered by him, the Silver Demon. He could see his own reflection in her eyes, the monster with silver eyes devoid of emotion, ready to take another life.

' _. . . Kill her.'_

He could hear the voices of others he'd killed, their faces flashing past his eyes, all screaming in agony. '_Monster! Killer! Demon!' _As if to validate the screams, the blade at his hip began to radiate bloodlust, a deathly cold spreading from it into his frame. It sickened him, made his stomach turn as he felt the urge to gag.

' _. . . Kill her!'_

His heart was now like a drum in his own ears, the sound threatening to drive him mad as his claws unveiled and his fangs elongated to their full length, his tail soon following. There he stood, his natural state revealed as he looked down at the child he was about to kill.

'_KILL HER!'_

"DAMN IT ALL!" he shouted as his hand fell, the glint of his blade following while Athena's voice ringed behind him.

"Stop!"

The sound of his blade hitting its mark silenced everything else.

" . . ."

" . . . Why?" he mumbled out.

He heard Athena drop to her knees with a gasp.

". . ."

'_. . . Why?' _he thought as he looked in front of him.

There, beside the girl's head was his machete, the edge missing her head by a fraction of an inch, her red eyes reflecting on the silver-colored metal.

"I can't . . . do it" he choked up as he pulled the blade out of the iron wall, the sound of metal grinding against metal screeching out.

He glanced back over his shoulder at Athena, her eyes meeting his for a moment before understanding replaced the fear that had shown through before. She slowly stood up as she wiped away a tear and walked to him, looking at him with relief before she slowly cupped his cheek.

"Why can't I kill her?" he asked. "My inner predator says to do it, my mind tells me to do it, my orders are to do it . . ."

"Because you aren't the cold hearted killer you make yourself out to be," Athena replied softly.

"You're wrong," he snapped. "I killed the other one, so why . . ."

"Because he asked you to do it," Athena replied without looking the slightest bit fazed by his outburst. "I heard him ask you to kill him before I found the girl here."

"But . . . but . . ."

Athena placed her hand directly over where his crystal is, the sense of her aura brushing against him calming him down even if they weren't actually touching.

"If you say that you will never atone for what you've done then so be it . . . but that doesn't mean you can't save a life either," Athena said sternly, her blue eyes unwavering as she looked into his silver orbs.

"She lost her past life, something that can never be restored but we can offer her a new one," she continued as she glanced at the silent girl behind them. "And I'm willing to suffer the consequences that come along with it," she added with a sad tone.

He looked at her, seeing how she glanced at the child, wanting to save her even at the cost of being punished for disobeying her own leader's directive.

"You won't," he mumbled earning an alarmed look from her.

"You won't have any punishments . . . the mission was only issued to me," he said as he looked at her, his mind now made up.

"We are getting her out of here."

'_If Ozpin or anyone else has a problem they can take it up with me . . .'_

Athena looked at him in surprise one moment before smiling at him, putting a soft yet firm hand on his shoulder. He gave her a thankful nod, feeling slightly more at ease before returning his attention to the girl, no longer crying though it was evident that his presence still frightened her.

He motioned to pick her up but the girl instantly flinched, pulling away as her eyes quivering. He looked at himself, remembering that right now he was in his natural state, a silver dragon. He softly sighed as he withdrew his claws and hid his eyes, his fangs also reducing back to their shortened form. He then tried again but to no avail as the girl whimpered again.

"Let me," Athena said softly as she gently pulled him back by the shoulder.

She then slowly knelt down in front of the girl, extending her hands towards the girl. The girl looked at her hand uncertainly before glancing up at Athena's face, her warm eyes soothing her until she reached back with her small hands. Athena then clasped her hand and gently pulled her towards her before running an arm under her legs and picking her up bridal style.

As she straightened up, she said soft words of encouragement. "There, there . . . it's ok, you're safe now." The girl responded by hiding her face in Athena's chest, her small hands clinging onto her coat.

Dante silently watched the exchange, a swirl of doubts ringing in his head. Why had he chosen this path? Killing the child would have surely spared them all the pain and anguish of watching the child suffer from her experience. Did they even have any right to the child's fate? He felt a cold dread take him. He knew what happened when weapons were retrieved, they were studied and taken apart, all for the purpose of being replicated.

He could already see a bond forming between them, knew that Athena would try to protect her, and that he would in turn defend her. Just listening to how tender and soft Athena's voice was as she tried to calm the girl was enough for him to decide on seeing it through . . . even if the painful end was unavoidable.

But now was not the time to remain stagnant. There was a mission to complete and he couldn't allow any enemies to escape. He cleared his throat to gain Athena's attention.

"We should get moving," Dante mentioned as he started to move towards the door.

As he walked he heard Athena ask the girl, "What's your name sweetie?"

The girl didn't respond for some time as they walked down the hall, towards the elevator at the end. As they reached it, Dante looked to see if it was operational. Another dud so he repeated his actions, ripping the steel doors apart, this time clean off the frame so they could enter while carrying the child.

He looked up the shaft, seeing that this elevator cart was probably at the highest floor. He looked to his side, spotting the cables holding it up. With a quick motion of his machete he sliced through the steel cable like butter, the sound of metal creaking before the elevator gave way as it began to fall. He stepped back and waited, the elevator flashing in and out of view in an instant as it continued its fall. Then there was an explosion echoing through the shaft as it finally hit the bottom.

He glanced at Athena and the girl in her arms before willing his toenails to extend into 2 inch talons. He didn't waste a moment as he then picked Athena up with the child now resting on her lap before he jumped into the shaft, his feet and talons gouging into the steel walls, before he jumped up several meters. He repeated the action, continuously jumping from one wall to the next as they ascended the shaft.

As they did so, amongst the sounds of metal denting and tearing, he heard her speak in just barely a whisper.

"Lily . . . my name . . . is Lily."

* * *

"Can you hold on here for a moment?" he asked softly, so as to not frighten the girl in Athena's arms.

She nodded as she used one hand to grip a railing while her free hand held the girl around her waist, the girl burying her face into Athena's shoulder as she clung on. With both now safe, he released his grip on Athena and looked at the sealed doors behind him.

This was definitely the level the elevator had fallen from, the metal railings along the side showing scratch marks from the elevator's sudden fall. He hopped the 3 meter space between the walls with ease, his now clawed hands and talons digging into the metal. He then grabbed the steel doors and began to pry them open, taking all of 5 seconds, until he ripped them off the frame and let them fall down the shaft.

He then motioned for Athena to follow as he stepped into the new hall, this one being cleaner and with no signs of combat. He listened to Athena as she jumped from the opposite wall of the shaft towards him, landing beside him with Lily clutching on to her. He gave her a glance before he started to move down the hall at a jogging pace, one of his machetes drawn in case of running into anyone.

As they moved he caught the sound of large gears moving, slight vibrations passing through the ground. '_What the hell?' _he wondered as they reached the end of the hall, another set of steel doors blocking their way. He was about to tear them apart as well but Athena tapped him in the shoulder to get his attention.

"Check if there is anyone past that," she said.

He nodded as he closed his eyes and let his aura pulse out around him. After a few moments he got a view of the room in front of them. It felt almost like another hanger, not as large as the one below but definitely large enough to house several bullheads. Then he could feel several aura signatures, some closer than others numbering around 5. One of the aura was sickening, a cold madness radiating around it yet there was another, large and stronger aura, the coloration being a dark red that almost seemed black. He recognized the presence as an Alpha and he knew exactly who it was.

He couldn't help but growl as he opened his eyes again, the draconic form taking hold as his blood boiled. She was there . . . and he was going to make her pay.

"Five in there, the bat included," he said as he grabbed hold of the doors. "I'll take them out, you hold back."

He didn't give her a chance to reply as he tore through the doors and stepped out into the new room. It was just as he'd visualized. It was a large hanger, a set of double door retracting at the roof, allowing for a full view of the clouded sky. About 8 meters in front of him was a group of five, one scrawny man in a lab coat surrounded by two White Fang grunts and two hooded figures, the floor lined with some supply crates.

They all turned to look at him in surprise, obviously not expecting his appearance. He only glared back as he walked forward, ready to kill them all.

"Don't just stand around you fools! Attack!" the man in the lab coat ordered as he took a step back, clutching small suitcase to his chest.

The two grunts obeyed as they charged at Dante together, each with a sword in hand. Dante waited until they were only a meter away before responding. In the blink of an eye he stepped into the guard of the first grunt, effortlessly clawing across this neck up to the bone. Before the corpse could even hit the ground Dante turned on the other grunt, battering the back of his fist against the grunt's head with so much force that it exploded like an egg as it rained brain matter, a gruesome decapitation leaving only the bottom of the jaw attached to the body.

Dante didn't bat an eye as he walked past of piles of flesh, his sight focused on one of the hooded figures, her scent giving her away. As he neared them she pulled back her hood, familiar black hair and red-ringed eyes looking at him with disgust and irritation. For the first time he also noticed that she had a single pair of ears, black and tapered to points much like bat ears.

'_. . . Bat ears? They look just like . . .'_ His eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder to look at Athena, more specifically, at the girl in her arms. She had the same type of ears, their color being the only difference. He started to connect the dots, the girls odd scent, the sensation her aura gave off . . . it was the same as the vampire's.

He looked back to his opponent before him, drawing both his machetes as he glowered at her. She returned her own glare, speaking in a seething voice.

"How is it that you're alive?"

"You messed up," he returned sharply. This only seemed to anger the vampire more as she bared her fangs at him.

"You were stabbed with a sword made of Moonlight Silver! You should be six feet under!"

"I'm a stubborn bastard . . . now, come on. I've been waiting for this," he replied as he readied his stance.

Alluria didn't respond, instead she drew out the silver short-sword, the edges formed into deadly serrations. She stalked forward as he waited, his focus being fixed to her as he released his killing intent. He could see her hesitate for a moment, the full force of his bloodlust rattling even her. Her remaining allies both shuddered as well, the scientist taking a few steps back as he looked in their direction.

He waited as she drew closer, her sword at the ready . . .

Both locked eyes, wrath and the desire to kill raging within them. 1 second . . . 2 seconds . . . 3 seconds passed until the vampire broke the stare.

She surged up to him, her sword aimed at his chest with a thrust. He swatted the sword away with one machete, the other coming around in a downward slash. She pulled back at the last moment, the tip of his machete catching only part of her hood. He didn't let up as he pursued her, slashing in and out, forcing her to backpedal or risk being overwhelmed.

He then came around with a rising slash, too close for her to step out of. She tried to block his machete, their blades sending out sparks as the air boomed around them from the force, before he forced her arms up. He was about to strike with his other machete but out of the corner of his eye he caught movement heading towards him. He instead blocked another blade aimed for his neck, the new blade being dark red, a straight-edged katana by the looks of it. Dante jumped back a few meters as he disengaged from both Alluria and the new attacker.

He then took in his new attacker's appearance, having taken off his hood before engaging him. It was a man, probably his age maybe younger with red hair combed back in a spiky fashion. He had a large Grimm mask covering most of his face, the narrow slits blocking his eyes from view. He was dressed in a full black suite, a red rose pattern marking his back, along with a black sheath held in his left hand, and what appeared to be Ox horns sticking out of his head pointed back.

Dante clicked his teeth in irritation, knowing that this fight just got harder. This new faunus wasn't an Alpha but he could tell that he was at the very least, a match for a Slayer. '_Two on one huh? This just got annoying'_ he thought as he readied his stance.

"Taurus! Don't you dare interfere!" Alluria shouted as she looked at Dante.

"You were being pushed back," Taurus replied blandly as he kept his attention focused on Dante as well.

Alluria hissed in response but did not protest his claim. They seemed to wait for him to make the first move, their stances mainly defensive, as he leaned forward. Before he could initiate, Athena appeared beside him, her whip and pistol in her hands as she looked at Taurus.

"I'll take him, you focus on the bat," she said firmly.

"What about Lily?" he asked.

"Safe," she replied as she readied her whip. "Now let's take them down quickly."

A faint smile traced his lips as he nodded. "Together then."

He then bolted towards the vampire, closing the distance in an instant as he swung both machetes together against her left side. She tried to block the hit by holding the blade in both hands but the moment his attack made contact, the force sent her careening away, her body tumbling against the cold steel floor until she crashed into the far off wall.

The ox tried to come from behind him but he didn't even bother looking back, knowing that Athena had his back. Before Taurus' blade could touch Dante, the sound of gunfire rang out, Taurus barely managing to retract his attack and block the bullets aimed at him. With the ox distracted, Dante ran after the recovering vampire, watching as she seemed to pop her elbow back into place with a grimace.

Once he was a few meters away he spoke. "This isn't going to be like last time."

She glared back at him, spitting out a glob of blood. "I'll make sure to cleave that pretty little head of yours off this time, demon."

As she said that, Dante caught the distinct sound of muscle and bone forming, the occasional sound of skin and clothes tearing accompanying as the back of her hood propped out. He watched as she pulled off the hood to reveal two fully sized bat wings, the black skin with white claws bringing back memories of their last fight.

'_I am going to enjoy pulling those off' _he thought as he watched her spread her wings to their full span before jumping into the air and catching the wind, allowing her to maintain a hovering position 6 meters above him.

'_I'm going to make you scream for mercy.'_

He started to smirk as a renewed wave of bloodlust radiated off him, the anticipation of tasting her blood and crushing her bones taking over his senses as the blade at his hip seemed to pulse in agreement.

' . . . _To tear and maim and feed . . .'_

* * *

**Author's Rant: Now it is go time, let them fight! I hope you all enjoyed the bit with Lily and the surprise appearance of Adam. **

**Anyways, let me know what you guys think? I really want to hear some opinions on how the story is going! Thanks and see you all next week!**


	43. To Keep A Promise Pt 1

**Author's Note: And it is go time! Let the battles continue!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"Lucian!"

Too late, he was suspended in the air with no way of evading. He braced his arms over his face as a massive black hand swiped him out of the air like a fly, sending his body barreling into the command center where he plowed through the concrete walls, finally coming to a stop on the opposite side of the building with a resounding boom. He grunted in pain with a grimace as he tried to stand up from the small crater, pain shooting up through his back.

He tried to ignore it, his attention focusing on the lumbering behemoth as it tried to flatten his partner, almost smashing him underfoot.

'_This is bad . . . we are poorly matched against that thing and it doesn't even look like its getting tired.' _Lucian clicked his teeth in irritation as he crouched down before bolting forward, making his way around the command center and towards the minotaur, its focus on Crato as he weaved in and out of its swipes. Lucian took the opening, using his unmatched speed coupled with his claws to tear at the Minotaur's feet, clawing at the back of the calves and heels.

The monster bellowed in irritation as it looked down at its now bloody feet, the sickly black ooze that was its blood slowly dripping out of numerous cuts, the perpetrator nowhere to be found. With its attention diverted Lucian had run towards Crato, both ducking behind an overturned jeep, out of the Minotaur's sight.

"Nice . . . one . . ." Crato panted out as he squatted down with his blades hanging at his sides.

"A lot of good it did . . . its muscle is too dense, those cuts were nothing more than a reason to get even more pissed at us," Lucian responded as he peaked around the jeep.

The minotaur was intently looking for them, turning over any debris or cover while occasionally sniffing the air. '_Less than a minute . . .'_

"We need to think up a new strategy," Lucian said as he looked back at Crato.

"Like what? You can only give it superficial injuries, the bone armor is too thick for either of us to get through, and I'm not fast enough to hit it where it counts," he replied.

"True but unless we figure something out and quick, we are Grimm chow."

"Never thought I'd be done in by some prime steak," Crato chuckled.

"Love your enthusiasm," Lucian deadpanned.

He was about to suggest a strategy when the Minotaur roared, having found its targets. They both jumped to opposite sides as the jeep they had used for cover was smashed by a clawed fist.

"Get its attention for me!" Lucian shouted as he charged at the Minotaur's legs again.

He ducked as it tried to catch him before he reached its foot. He then used his momentum to run up the shin and hop onto its knee. He didn't stop moving, quickly racing up to the hips. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the Minotaur's hand coming for him again. As it nearly reached him, he dropped onto his knees, skidding just below the hand that nearly swatted him away. He then righted himself, resuming his sprint while forming water claws to overlap his own.

He lunged across the monster's midriff, his enhanced claws gouging into the black flesh, leaving a 3 meter tear just below the ribs. This time eliciting a roar of both anger and pain. '_Better . . . but not nearly enough' _he thought as he landed on the floor and distanced himself from the monster. Once he was several meters away he looked back to see the Minotaur glaring at him, one clawed hand covering part of the tear left from his attack, a small pool of blood forming underneath.

He couldn't help but smirk at that, knowing that he had really angered the Grimm now and this time for actually managing to hurt it.

"Let's dance," he muttered as he crouched, ready to charge again, hoping that Crato would follow his previous instructions and get its attention so he could hurt it again.

He charged, his claws at the ready, as the Minotaur dropped down onto all fours, intent on meeting him head on. He knew a frontal assault wouldn't work but kept advancing, keeping the Minotaur focused on him. As the two neared, Lucian felt a surge of aura to his left. Before the two could collide an arc of electricity descended from seemingly nowhere with a thunderous clap, striking the Grimm as it prepared to gore Lucian with its thick horns.

It didn't even roar as the bolt raced through its body, temporarily paralyzing its movements.

'_Here's my chance!'_

Lucian ran right up to its head and exposed neck, now within reach thanks to the monster's position. He jumped at its throat, striking with as much force as he could muster into his right hand. As his claws made contact with the thick fur and hide covering the neck he realized his mistake. The skin and fur protecting its throat was thicker and tougher than that of its legs or stomach. It was so dense that after trailing just a few feet his hand stopped dead, caught in the dense flesh and fur.

Just then the Minotaur started to move again though slowly as it recovered from the shock of Crato's attack. Lucian tugged at his trapped hand, finally ripping it out with a sickening squelch before he kicked of the Minotaur's collar bone and landed just outside its reach.

He then glanced at his hand, three of his fingers pointing in odd directions with one broken claw. He grunted in annoyance as he clenched his fist, a series of cracking sounds ringing out as his fingers popped back into place. He opened and closed his fist as he locked eyes with the monster, now fully recovered from its initial shock. It looked back at him, its eyes radiating a cold hate and intelligence unlike any Grimm he'd faced before.

'_So this is an S-classed Grimm . . .' _he thought as he began focusing his aura around his claws again. He knew that repeatedly using his semblance like this would drain him quickly but there wasn't any other way to cut into the monster's flesh.

With the water now coating his right hand up to his elbow he began to run forward. '_I'll charge at its head and then flank him. If I can take out the use of one of his arms then this will be easier.'_

As he ran the Minotaur reared up, not intent on leaving its throat exposed again. Just then Lucian noticed movement on the command center's roof. He watched in surprise as Crato leapt from the roof of the center towards the Minotaur's head, the glint of his blades flashing overhead. As the blonde raced through the air Lucian glanced at the Minotaur's face, only to have his blood freeze.

Its eyes were already focused on Crato, having deemed him the immediate threat. With a reflex that shouldn't have been possible for a creature that size, the Minotaur's hand raced up and caught Crato, fully obscuring him in black flesh and white claws.

Lucian could only watch in horror, knowing that all the Minotaur needed to do was squeeze and Crato would be finished. He doubled his pace, frantically hoping to reach the creature before it could kill his partner then his ears caught something.

He heard an angry yell before the Minotaur bellowed in pain, its fist bursting open. There, through a burst of black blood and severed flesh appeared Crato, covered in the Grimm's blood as he cut his way out of the Minotaur'' grip. As the monster reared up to its full height, roaring in rage and pain, Crato fell at its feet, hitting the ground in a rough roll. Lucian was now running towards him to help him get away. Once he helped his dazed partner up, the two bolted away from the furious monster.

As they stopped Lucian looked back at the Grimm, noting how Crato had managed to severe its thumb and index finger while also rendering the other fingers useless. '_Its left hand is nothing more than a lump of flesh now' _he mused as his partner dropped to one knee.

"What's wrong?" Lucian asked in alarm.

"Bastard managed to put a good squeeze before I got out . . . took a chunk of my aura," Crato replied with a scowl. "With this and that last discharge I'm probably around 50%. How about you?"

"Not much better . . ." Lucian replied as he turned his attention to the Grimm as it glared at them.

It snorted angrily as it took a step towards them.

"Plan?" Crato asked as he stood back up, eyeing the approaching monster.

"Don't die," Lucian replied as he charged again.

The monster watched him approach, raising its right arm up before bringing it down to smash him. He jumped to the side, almost stumbling from the sheer force shaking the ground beneath him but he continued on until he was just below the chin. Once there he jumped up with as much force as he could, driving his fist into Grimm's chin. He felt several bones in his hand snap but he ignored the burning pain as he followed through with his punch. He managed to knock the Minotaur's head back, the creature reeling from the force of his attack.

As he fell he felt another surge of aura below him before he heard a thunder crack. He looked down in time to see Crato barrel into the Minotaur's chest, his entire frame crackling with light blue electricity. The Minotaur didn't expect the impact, its body lurching back even more before it fell over onto the barracks behind it. He could hear a few short cries of pain as the soldiers trapped within the structure were crushed under the weight of the Minotaur.

With the monster momentarily incapacitated Lucian and Crato gained some distance before looking back at the destroyed barracks.

"Nice one," Lucian muttered before he inspected his hand. He had smashed his fist open and likely snapped his wrist with that punch and now couldn't use it.

"Don't be looking for another one of those any time soon," Crato replied as he flexed his shoulder. "Could have sworn I was going to break my shoulder there."

"Same here. My right is useless for at least 30 minutes."

"I don't think we have that long."

They both watched as the Minotaur began to recollect itself, lightly shaking its head off some debris.

"This thing just won't stay down dammit!" Crato growled as he readied his blades again.

"Then we will find a way to keep it down," Lucian responded as inspected the monster, now fully recovered.

He looked over the mangled hand before his eyes trailed up to its torso and the spot Crato tackled. There he could see the slightest char mark and small cracks in the center of the bone chest plate.

'_Wait a minute! Crato's attacks do hurt it . . . but maybe if I . . .'_

He looked back at Crato, a plan beginning to form in his head. It was dangerous and if it didn't work they wouldn't have a second chance.

"Crato . . . you got one more in you?" he asked.

Crato gave him a side look before grunting with a nod.

"Perfect . . . then this is what we'll do . . ."

* * *

She moved in and out of his attacks, trying to find an opening to counter at. He used a hook, his arm sailing over her head as she ducked and stepped closer to his body. He'd overstepped, exposing the right side of his torso to her. She took it, thrusting her spear straight towards his right pectoral, his skin momentarily flashing as his aura tried to protect him but the spear pushed through, only to pierce a few inches of his flesh before being forced to stop.

She jumped back in alarm, narrowly dodging another swing of Aros' massive arms. '_This isn't right, I should have been able run him through just then! It's like he isn't even made of normal flesh at all!'_ She had felt as though something was off from the moment she first punched him.

His body was heavier than expected, even with accounting for his massive proportions. He hadn't even seemed the slightest bit fazed from the attack when most who survived a punch from her where usually out cold. She glared at him in frustration, wondering just what was it that had been done to him to make him so resilient.

"What's wrong Queen? Not used to being the weak one?" Aros mocked.

She growled in response as she readied her spear for another attack. She glanced at the small cut she made on his chest. It was lightly bleeding some sort of dark fluid that didn't smell anything like blood.

"Just what the hell are you?" she demanded earning a smirk from Aros.

"Just a faunus who's achieved true power," he replied.

"Bullshit!"

"Is that fear I smell?" he asked as he took a step closer. "Oh I've been waiting years to take my revenge . . . now I can."

As he said the last word he charged at her like a runaway train, his every step crushing the ground beneath. She tried to dodge around him but his reach was too large, allowing him to bat her aside. The wind was knocked out of her as she tumbled on the ground. Luckily her aura had taken a majority of the impact but even then it still hurt.

It looked like Aros wasn't going to give her the chance to recover, charging at her again before she could even stand, kicking her in the gut and sending her flying for several meters before slamming into another wall. She gasped in pain as she dropped to the floor, her spear clattering on the floor beside her.

Her vision was blurred, her back burning from the impact as her lungs begged for air. She couldn't remember the last time she was hit so hard, had her own strength overwhelmed. She slowly forced herself to her feet, waiting for her eyes to regain focus and her aura to numb the pain in her back. She looked at Aros as he started to stalk towards her, a disgusting aura radiating around him.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart . . ." he sneered.

"Fat chance," she retorted as took a defensive stance. She quickly glanced at her spear off to her right.

Aros caught her glance, surging forward and bringing down his fist to pummel her overhead. She jumped to the side as his fist smashed the ground where she had been and rolled to where her spear was, quickly twirling it her around her body in preparation for Aros' next attack.

"What's the point? Your little toothpick can't hurt me," he said as he straightened up and looked down at her.

She didn't reply, instead choosing to initiate the attack this time. She sprinted forward in a burst of speed that Aros couldn't track, coming within a meter of him before swinging her spear like a long bat. She struck him just above the hip, the force of it bending her spear as his body careened to the side. She followed after his body, jumping up and bringing her spear down on his shoulder with all her strength.

This time the spear dove deep, tearing into muscle and bone as Aros screamed in pain, thrashing his left arm around to try and knock her off. She dodged one swipe and tried to pull the spear loose but it wouldn't budge. Just as she was going to give it another tug Aros managed to grab one of her legs. He pulled her off his chest and slammed her down into the ground beside him. Her vision went black for a moment as more pain raced through her body, her left leg feeling numb around the ankle.

She coughed as she tried to sit up but immediately felt a foot stomp down on her chest making her gasp. She opened her eyes to see Aros directly over her, his right foot planted on her while he glared down at her, her spear lodged into his right shoulder.

"You little bitch," he growled as he grabbed onto her spear and ripped it out of his shoulder, the wound spraying out the dark fluid onto her.

The smell was putrid, as if it had come out of a week old corpse. She tried her best to lean away from the liquid and not gag but the stuff was all around her now. Wherever the fluid made contact with her skin she felt a burning sensation, as if the stuff was slowly eroding away at her skin.

"Aww does the little kitty not like my blood?" Aros sneered as he tossed her spear to the side and crouched down to be directly over her, more of his foul blood spilling onto her.

He then put more pressure on her chest while he watched her squirm. She could feel her ribs beginning to bend in from the weight, the slightest sound of cracking filling her ears. She tried to push his foot off but the lack of air was starting to weaken her. Then suddenly Aros lifted his foot, only to grab her by the head and lift her up. She couldn't see anything but did manage to inhale once as he lifted her up.

She heard Aros chuckle before he slammed her down again. She screamed as more pain flared through her back but Aros kept going, repeatedly lifting her and then bringing her down, all the while laughing at her pain. After she lost count he threw her. She couldn't tell how long she was in the air but she then felt her side slam into another wall before she crumpled to the ground.

She slowly tried to lift herself up but her body protested in agony. Her arms felt like lead and her legs were trembling but she persisted until she managed to get up on her knees and elbows. She coughed up some blood before she looked around. She noticed that she had landed near the passage Dante and Athena took when they had first entered the hanger. She then looked around the hanger to see where Aros was.

He was slowly stalking towards her with the confidence of a predator who had fatally injured and cornered his prey. She then noticed some noise off to her right, the metallic ringing of swords colliding echoing through the hanger. She looked to see Thantos locked with Rios, the latter clearly wielding the upper hand as he forced Thantos onto one knee. Thantos then managed to push Rios' blade to the side while simultaneously rolling in the opposite direction.

She could see he was injured, a large gash over his right eye and a cut along his left thigh. He was also panting, his grip on his sword looking shaky as Rios hoisted his single-edged blade up to attack again. Luckily, it looked like he had managed to injure Rios as well, the giant sporting a large slash from one shoulder to the opposite hip, a familiar dark fluid leaking out. Yet he seemed to ignore the wound, his face formed into a cruel smirk as he reengaged Thantos, pushing back into the defensive.

'_We're getting ripped apart!'_ she thought as she returned her attention to the nearing Aros. Just looking at his smug face filled her with rage. She hated him, ever since the first time she had met the twins back in Othrys Academy. How they mocked others, belittled them and their efforts before hiding behind the strength of their pack. Cowards . . . liars . . . scum . . .

"You know," Aros started as he stopped just a few meters away from her. "I wish I could have been there that night . . ."

"What?" she asked in spite of herself.

"I heard from some old friends about what happened after your graduation," Aros continued with a smirk. "How your class tried to kill you and your damn pack. They even managed to get the job halfway done, offing your little runt of a sister and that lumbering mass of muscle. Still, for that Demon to actually kill almost everyone and disappear . . . we always knew he was twisted but even then it was a bit of a surprise."

" . . ."

"Rios said that he wouldn't have wanted to be there only to get caught up in the Demon's rage but I think it would have been worth it, if only to see you cry over your little sister's corpse."

" . . . Shut up . . ." she whispered.

"They say you cried like a baby over her, losing all of your nerve."

" . . . Shut up . . ." She could feel tears welling up at her eyes.

"That you needed the Demon to protect you because you lost all your strength that night and even then he abandoned you too . . ."

"Shut up!" she screamed as the tears trailed down her face.

"You say that my brother and I always hid behind others yet you never looked at yourself . . . but I know the truth. You were the weakest of the pack, always first to cry and last to act . . . pathetic," Aros spit out.

She clenched her fists as more tears fell. '_He's right . . . I couldn't do anything. I always relied on the others and when the attack happened all I could do was cry . . .'_

Aros walked closer, preparing to finish her.

'_I was alone for years afterwards, always blaming myself for Chui's death and Dante abandoning me but then the minute I see him, I let my emotions take over and ended up attacking him. Then there was the infiltration . . . I saw him passed out on the ground and the only thing I could do was stare and cry more . . .'_

Aros was now standing directly over her. His fist poised to strike her down.

'_But . . . I'm not alone anymore . . . and Dante made a promise to the kids. We are all coming back. I won't let us break that promise . . .'_

Aros brought his hand down on top of her head only to be stopped an inch before striking her. Aros' eyes widened in surprise as she had stopped his fist with one hand, her own claws digging into the flesh of his fist as she closed her grip.

She then started to flare her aura, a dark red hue radiating off her body as she slowly stood up, her legs no longer shaking. Aros tried to pull his hand free but she held fast, as a primal growl escaped from her lips. She could feel her fangs elongate, her eyes shifting to their true forms, and her tail also coming out.

Before Aros could think to attack her with his injured right arm she tossed his fist aside and surged at his chest, driving a left cross into his gut. He gasped as the air was knocked out of him and his body was sent tumbling back.

"It's true," she began as she started to move towards him. "I wasn't able to truly use my strength after that night . . . I just couldn't do anything for the people I loved, I failed to protect them, failed as a sister and a leader."

She glared at him as he got back on his feet, his smug expression now gone and replaced by one of unease.

"But I'm not going to let it happen again. I won't leave him to suffer again . . . there is a promise to keep after all, even if it means I have to use it again," she said as her aura began to radiate more intensely.

"W-What?" Aros stuttered out as he took a step back, frightened by the surge in aura.

"My semblance," she stated before she became enveloped in a swirl of dark red aura.

She felt her body begin to pulse with renewed strength, her heart rate rising to dangerous levels as her muscles contracted and expanded. Then there was the sound of bones breaking and reforming, her own skin beginning to tear as the muscle underneath grew. She knew that it hurt, her own body ripping itself apart under the burden of shifting but the adrenaline pumping through her veins numbed it out.

Some of her clothes was also ripping apart, exposing her midriff, arms, and legs but she didn't care. She needed to take Aros down and this was the only way she could do it. The aura swirling around her began to fade to reveal her new form. She now stood eye level with Aros, the latter looking at her with clear fear as he took another step back.

She recognized the look. Anyone who saw the monstrosity she could become always ran in fear and disgust. She couldn't blame them, it even disgusted her. To be able to grow her body at will, exponentially increasing her strength as she grew was truly a disturbing ability. She only think of two people who had ever seen her ability and not run away, Dante and her late sister.

'_Now to finish him quickly' _she thought as she ran forward, her steps shattering the ground underneath. '_There is no going back now . . .'_

* * *

Another obvious thrust, easily dodged with a simple step, his attacker almost growling in frustration as he jumped back lest he remain within striking distance.

'_This managed to infiltrate the facility? How disappointing' _Diomede thought as he readied his axe for another go.

The Slayer, Foxfire if memory served correctly, had attacked the moment he had named himself. The veteran hunter didn't even bat an eye as he engaged the younger hunter. Diomede had been somewhat surprised at first, the Slayer's skill and speed allowing him to successfully attack whilst dodging his own counters, if by only an inch.

Now as the fight raged on Diomede had begun to press the Slayer, capitalizing on the confined space and strength of his swing to overwhelm his opponent. Even with only the light of the dimming fireplace as a source of illumination Diomede had been able to easily track the Slayer's movements and even injure him. He had a rather large gash across his left thigh, forcing him to rely on his right leg.

'_It's only a matter of time now before I claim my prize.'_

He smirked at the Slayer, eliciting an angry glare before he attacked. He surged forward with a speed unexpected of a man his size and brought the double-edged axe down. The Slayer's strange orange eyes flashed with worry as he jumped to the side, narrowly dodging the axe as it crashed into the floor beside him. Before he could try to even counter Diomede ripped the axe out while simultaneously arcing it up, this time catching the space connecting his arm to his shoulder.

The Slayer stumbled back as one hand reached for the afflicted area. '_His aura saved him from losing his arm,' _Diomede thought as he noted the blood trailing down his side. The cut had likely cut the use of his arm to 50 %, possibly less.

"Let's see how much longer you can last," Diomede chuckled as he took a step forward.

"Bastard," the Slayer muttered as he tightened the grip on his lacrosse stick, his injured arm held out for balance.

"What's wrong? I thought you 'Slayers' were supposed to be the elite of hunters," he continued, enjoying the anger in the Slayer's eyes.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Foxfire retorted before he dashed forward.

Diomede responded by swinging his axe horizontally, aimed for a decapitation but Foxfire jumped over it before swinging around his lacrosse stick with the bladed edge managing to hit the back of Diomede's arm. Diomede shouted with a mix of pain and anger as the Slayer landed behind him, turning on his heel to press his attack.

Diomede backpedaled as he met his foe's weapon head on, the space around them being lit with every collision of the weapons. Even if he was injured the Slayer had begun to attack with increased speed, forcing Diomede to remain of the defensive as he expertly maneuvered his axe to block a variety of slashes. The exchanged lasted for nearly 30 seconds before Foxfire jumped back, lightly panting with his left leg trembling, while Diomede glared at him.

Foxfire had landed a few more cuts but none of them were deep enough to actually affect him and now his own injuries were beginning to affect him. Diomede wasn't about to allow him to recover, initiating his own attack before the Slayer could mount a defense. Diomede hacked away at the evasive Slayer, narrowly missing or having his attack deflected but it didn't matter. He could see the strain it placed on the Slayer, tell how his defense was becoming weaker and weaker.

Then it happened. Diomede swung for the Slayer's neck only to find empty space, Foxfire having repeated the action of jumping over the attack but this time to a higher altitude. He'd probably assumed that Diomede would try to intercept him behind from behind himself but Diomede could tell otherwise.

'_He's right above me,' _Diomede thought as he stepped to the side, the spiked end of the Slayer's lacrosse stick impaling the ground where he had just stood moments before. As the Slayer fell back down Diomede timed his another swing to meet him halfway. Even as he swung he glanced up to look at the Slayer's startled face before the axe crashed into his gut. In the moment the axe connected there was a flash of orange, the Slayer's aura focusing to take the brunt of the attack.

Yet it did nothing to stop Foxfire from being flung across the room, through the desk, and crashing into the glass wall, fractures spreading around him as he slumped to the ground with a bloody cut across his gut.

"There we are," Diomede mocked as he walked forward, watching as Foxfire panted with a pained expression, blood trailing down his gut and leg.

"How . . . the hell . . . did you see that . . . in this light?" Foxfire asked through his pained breaths.

Diomede smirked as he rested the business end of the axe on the ground and leaned on it. "Since I'm about to kill you I'll humor you. It's my semblance, Over Watch as I call it. If I have seen you and you remain with a certain range of me I will always be aware of your location, even in the absolute darkness."

" . . ." Foxfire didn't reply, only shooting Diomede an irritated glare as he forced himself to his feet with a grunt.

Once he was standing Diomede could make out the severity of the cut but was disappointed to see that the axe had not made it past the last of the abdominal muscle and the greatest risk for now was bleeding. But even that was beginning to get stanched as a faint orange aura coated around the cut and began to mend some of the muscle.

"You have impressive aura control to have managed to defend so well against my swing," he muttered as he hoisted up the axe.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Foxfire replied as he suddenly brought his elbow back into the glass behind him, shattering a section of it as a cold wind roared in.

As Diomede squinted momentarily Foxfire grabbed a shard of glass and hurled it at his face making him duck by reflex. With his eyes off Foxfire the latter then pulled out a pistol that Diomede hadn't seen before and fire off a few rounds. Diomede managed to use the flat edge of his axe as a shield but one round made it into his forearm, getting lodged into his bone.

Diomede bellowed in pain as he slashed at the Slayer but Foxfire rolled to the side as the axe carved through what remained of the glass wall, glass raining down around them. Diomede then wheeled around to see that Foxfire had recovered his staff before twisting the end of it. He then watched as the basket end of the stick collapsed on itself, the bladed edges coming together to form a long spear point while the end seemed to extend a foot forming a short spear.

"Like that will make a difference," Diomede said angrily as he hefted his axe.

"Who said that's all?" Foxfire muttered as he turned tail and ran at the doors leading into the room.

He didn't even stop to open them, instead resorting to barreling straight through them into the reception space.

"Come back here and die," Diomede shouted as he ran after him.

"Make me," Foxfire called out from the reception room.

Diomede didn't bother replying as he passed through the doors into the reception room, the low red back-up lights coloring everything in crimson. There stood Foxfire at the opposite end, his spear in his left hand and those glowing orange irises. He had discarded the coat to fully display his Slayer uniform, the chest piece showing multiple cuts aside from the obvious injury on his gut.

"So you think a new look for your little stick and discarding your coat will give you any better chance of surviving?" Diomede asked darkly as the grip on his axe tightened.

"Not really . . . being in a larger room with more breathing space though, now that could be useful," Foxfire returned with a faint smirk.

"You see, fighting in such a closed space gave you the advantaged with that axe and your semblance but out here," he said as he gestured with his left hand. "This is more my speed."

Foxfire then grinded as he closed his eyes for a moment, his frame beginning to glow orange, before he opened his eyes again but this time he had narrowed pupils. The aura around him began to distort, shifting around his body until it began to form a second translucent skin of sorts. His hands became clawed and the aura around his head condensed, forming a set of large fox ears, and lastly four large tendrils of aura erupted from behind him.

The tendril seemed to almost twitch and move as they thickened until they looked like tails, fox tails to be exact with almost white flame like formations marking the ends. Overall he looked like a faunus and at the same time not, an old and powerful aura unlike any Diomede had sensed before radiating off him.

"Now . . ." Foxfire began before in an orange blur he dashed up to Diomede, his face only a foot away. "I'll show you exactly what a Slayer is made of . . ."

* * *

**Author's Rant: I know, I cut the fight scenes down . . . but it will be worth it! Hope everyone enjoyed and can't wait for next piece, till next time!**

**Review~Comment~Favorite!**


	44. To Keep A Promise Pt 2

**Author's Note: And the second part to the operation! I hope you all find it as epic as I did! Enjoy!**

**WHO else is HYPED for volume 3!?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"Now . . . I'll show you exactly what a Slayer is made of"

As he said the last word he lashed out with a kick, nailing Diomede in the gut before he could even register the attack, sending him barreling into the opposite wall with a resounding crash. He could hear the sound of Diomede gasping for breath, smell the traces of blood and sweat permeating the air, and see the world in full detail down to the patterns on the carpeted floor.

He watched as Diomede recovered, panting as one hand clambered onto the wall for support. He smirked as Diomede looked at him, his eyes wide with shock as he took in the new appearance.

"What the hell are you!?" Diomede asked with an angry scowl.

"This?" he replied as he looked down at himself. "Oh nothing special, just wanted to get the chance to show my true colors."

"And that would be?"

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a smirk as he readied his shifted short-spear into a more comfortable grip in his right hand.

He then bolted forward, not intent on letting Diomede form a plan, closing the distance in a moment. Diomede reacted in time to roll to the side, narrowly dodging being impaled to the wall but failed to notice one of Havasu's tails whipping around as it collided into his shoulder eliciting a cry of pain from Diomede. He then pulled his spear out of the wall as Diomede regained his footing, looking at his shoulder.

There was a clear burn mark at the top of his shoulder along with bits of blood oozing out through cracks in the charred skin. Diomede then aimed a glare at him as he readied his axe, as a renewed wave of bloodlust began to radiate off him.

"Ooh, scary," Havasu taunted as he lowered his stance, his tails twitching back and forth behind him. "Bring it."

Diomede didn't need any further encouragement as he charged, going for a direct overhead swing, bringing the axe down with as much force as he could muster. Havasu just stood there as the axe came down until at the last moment his tails arced around his body to block the strike, stopping the attack with little difficulty. Havasu smirked before he willed his tails to forcefully push off the axe, nearly knocking it out of Diomede's hands.

He then followed up with a thrust of his spear, only to meet the edge of the axe as Diomede brought it back around. Then one of his tails wiped forward but this time Diomede manage to duck out of the strike. Havasu chased after him, using a combination of his spear and his tails to keep Diomede on the defensive, slowly wearing him down until he could finally get in a serious injury.

As they moved back and forth Havasu tried to ignore the pain flaring from his gut, hoping that his aura could keep the bleeding to a minimal until he could finish Diomede. Diomede tried to counter with a kick as he deflected Havasu's spear with his axe but the moment his foot nearly connected Havasu caught it with his left hand. Before Diomede could try to pull his leg back Havasu clenched his hand, the aura claws piercing through Diomede's aura shielding and tearing into part of his foot earning another scream of pain.

He then pulled Diomede by the foot and tossed him across the floor. As Diomede tumbled Havasu dropped to one knee, grunting in pain as he gingerly traced a hand over the wound on his gut. He could tell that the bleeding was accelerating, the use of his full semblance focusing his aura into offense rather than to repair the damage.

'_Another minute, maybe 2? Any longer and I won't have any aura left at all,'_ he thought as he glanced back at Diomede, the latter forcing himself to stand even though his right foot was torn to the bone. '_Tough bastard this one! Gotta be quick.'_

He stood back up and looked at Diomede for a moment before he charged again, focusing his attacks through his spear while his tails handled any possible counters. The sound of steel clashing echoed through the halls as the 2 combatants fought, each seemingly failing to gain the upper hand as their injuries weighed them down. The exchange ended with both jumping back and trading stares through labored breaths.

Diomede was using his axe for support, his right foot no longer responding to commands as blood pooled around it. Havasu wasn't fairing much better, part of his uniform was drenched in his blood and he was starting to feel light headed, the aura coating his hands starting to pale as the supply ran low.

"You piece of filth," Diomede spat out.

"Look who's talking," he retorted before he started to cough, some blood spluttering out. "Shit . . ."

"Looks like you can't keep going for much longer."

"I'm not stopping until I have your head on a silver platter," he replied before spitting out a glob of blood and saliva.

"On that," Diomede said as he readied his weapon again, "We can agree."

Havasu was about to attack again but then he heard something. His temporary fox ears twitched as they focused towards the hall to his left. He heard a faint form of growling along with what sounded like nails scraping against the walls. He took a moment to glance down the dimmed hall to feel his blood run cold. There, stalking towards them, were several children dressed in hospital gowns.

He counted 8 children, a mix of boys and girls ranging anywhere from 8 to 13 years old, all of them stained with blood along their arms, gowns, and chins. Their eyes looked devoid of any emotion but one, anger. They stalked forward with a smell of blood and decay, growling and snarling with twisted fangs, their clawed hands occasionally scraping against the walls.

"No . . ." Havasu mumbled as he focused all of his attention on them.

By now they were close enough that Diomede could see and hear them, his own expression turning to shock and disgust.

"So that is why the entire research floor went silent," he muttered as he looked between the children and Havasu.

Havasu glared back at Diomede with hateful eyes. "Why did you do this to them?"

"A necessary evil," Diomede replied nonchalantly.

"Necessary evil!?" he shouted back.

"Yes! Don't you see? Without the results and data we learned from those children, humans as a whole will never have a way to match the real threat!"

"Real threat?" he echoed back in confusion.

"The Alphas! Those monsters are beyond anything humanity could hope to match as we are now. The only choice is to join them or be destroyed by them and if joining them gives me the chance to gain an upper hand, then I'm taking it!"

"So . . . you're doing this all . . . because of your own fear?"

Diomede looked at him without the same hateful eyes he'd had during their fight, now revealing the man behind them. A man who was scared, who had seen something too powerful to describe and now ran with his tail in between his legs, sacrificing others if only to save himself.

Whatever else Havasu was going to say was cut off by one of the children as he charged at Havasu, a vicious snarl on his face. He jumped to the side as the child ran past, instead turning to run at Diomede while more of the children attacked. He watched as Diomede cut them down, splitting one down the center before turning to the others as they cycled around. Havasu on his end tried his best to dodge any attacks and keep his distance.

'_They're kids, I can't hurt them,'_ he thought as he hopped over one but while in the air another lounged at him. He managed to catch the child by the throat, holding him off the ground as he tried to claw at the aura coating Havasu's arm. Havasu looked into the child's eyes, desperately looking for any semblance of humanity but found nothing. He remembered Dante's words . . .

'It's likely that we won't find the children, just empty husks that look like kids . . .'

Havasu grit his teeth as he looked at the child in his hand before he clenched his fist, the sound of bones snapping ringing over his ears as the child's body went limp. He could only stomach one glance at the child's face before he horridly looked away, the haunting sight of the now lifeless eyes making him want to puke.

He dropped the body and looked back towards Diomede. He was cornered to the far wall by the 4 remaining children, being kept at bay as he swung his axe. Havasu could see a large bite mark on his arm and several claw marks, his aura having fallen to minimal levels during their fight now leaving him vulnerable to the enhanced children.

'_They were looking for him all along,'_ he thought as he watched them snarl at Diomede. The children or at least whatever was left of them seemed to comprehend that being struck by his axe meant death and kept a safe distance though they occasionally tried to come closer to swipe at Diomede's feet. Seeing that Diomede was slowing down and the children weren't paying to slightest bit of attention to him Havasu looked towards the room he had encountered Diomede in.

He walked towards the busted doors and knelt down to retrieve his gun, having dropped it after he'd gotten past Diomede and recovered his staff. He walked up to the smashed desk and looked the room over before he looked at the dropped files he'd read. He grimaced in disgust before he began to trail the ends of his tails around the desk and floor. Wherever they made contact a brilliant flame sprang into life, greedily feeding on the wood and carpeting that adorned the room. He then stepped back and turned away, making sure each and every surface was alighted before he exited the room and neared where the children had Diomede cornered.

With a quick inspection and ammo check Havasu then turned his attention to Diomede who by now was on one knee, blood pooling below him from all his injuries. He gripped his axe in his right hand, his left shoulder and arm hanging limply from repeated strikes of Havasu's tails, the char marks covering the top of the shoulder, part of the peck, and the roof of the bicep. '_What a pitiful sight.'_

Havasu took aim and fired off 2 rounds, nailing Diomede in the elbow and wrist of his right arm as he shouted in pain. Diomede then looked past the children towards him, his eyes full of hate.

"I said I was taking your head . . . but it looks like it doesn't belong to me," Havasu said as Diomede's grip on the axe faltered. "You'll wish I had killed you soon enough."

Diomede looked at him for a moment before realization dawned on him, the hate in his eyes being replaced by terror.

"N-No!" Diomede shouted just before the first child lunged.

Diomede raised his right arm to block but the child merely latched onto his arm, biting into muscle and bone with a sickening crunch. Diomede bellowed in pain but all it did was entice the others to attack. They all pounced on him, dragging him to the ground as they clawed and bite, their hunger for blood and revenge driving them on. Havasu watched in solemn silence, listening to Diomede's petty cries of pain.

They clawed at his chest until his ribs were exposed before they tore at them as well and bite into whatever flesh they could. Then one found his throat, crunching down on Diomede's windpipe as he thrashed in vain. By this point Havasu closed his eyes, no longer wishing to see the slaughter yet he forced them open again as he repeated what he'd done in the previous room.

He trailed his tails around the floor and walls, igniting the entire room as he backed away into the hall. He then searched in his pockets until he fished out a small metal box. He opened it to retrieve a red burn crystal cut to the size of a ping-pong ball. He spared one last look at the children as they fed on the corpse, seemingly oblivious of the fire roaring around them, before he tossed the crystal into the flames nearest to them.

He then turned and began to walk away, managing about 5 steps before a small explosion rang out behind him along with several short cries of pain, than nothing but the sound of fire as it consumed everything in its wake.

"Everything burns," he mumbled to himself as he deactivated his semblance and slowly walked down to the end of the hall before he sat down and leaned against the wall.

He looked down at his gut before pulling out his scroll and checking his aura. It signaled that he was in the red.

"Well that's a bitch," he muttered as he put the scroll down and returned his attention to the cut.

He fished out a small lighter and the metal box again, this time taking out a small vial of burn dust. '_I might pass out from pain . . . better let them know,'_ he thought as he typed out a quick message on his scroll and sent it to the rest of his team.

He then began to move his armor and clothes away from the cut before pinching the skin together as best he could, then pouring a small amount of the dust onto the cut. He then opened the lighter and flicked it open, staring at the small fire that sprang to life.

"Fuck . . . me . . ."

* * *

Thantos ducked as the blade nearly decapitated him. Before he could try to counter a monstrous fist slammed into him, knocking the wind out of him as he tumbled on the ground. His head was spinning and his lungs burned but he still staggered to his feet, his sword's tip dragging on the ground beside him. He looked at the lumbering mass that was Rios, the 10 foot giant towering over him wielding a sword that was at least 8 feet and had to weigh over 100 lbs.

His only saving grace was that the edge had dulled from misuse and the wielder was not as skilled as himself yet he was forced to defend. Whatever metal the sword was made of, it was built to withstand any impact, the point being driven home when his own sword, Hofund, failed to cut through it. If this fight kept the current pace, it would only be a matter of time before Rios managed to cut him down.

He clicked his teeth in irritation as he waited for Rios to near, the giant casually walking towards him with smug overconfidence. Rios hadn't even faltered when he had managed to cut him from shoulder to hip, brushing off a cut that should have cleaved through his muscle like butter but the moment the sword cut into his flesh Thantos could tell something was off. '_Just how dense is his muscle!? . . . And that black blood . . . just what the hell were they doing here?' _he pondered as he waited for the faunus to attack.

"You look tired little man," Rios taunted as he drew closer. "Don't worry, it will be all over soon."

Thantos was about to retort when a scream drew both their attention to the other combatants. Thantos watched in horror as Aros repeatedly slammed Kiara's head into the floor, shattering the concrete below her while he grinned with glee before he turned and threw her at the far off wall.

"Kiara!" he called out as he started to move towards her but out of the corner of his eye he saw Rios charge at him.

He pivoted in time to intercept Rios' swing with his own sword, the collision forcing him back as his feet gouged into the floor for traction. His arms felt like lead, his hands beginning to tremble as they held onto the hilt of his white sword. He tried to focus on Rios but blood kept dripping into his right eye, forcing him to either squint or try to rub it out whenever he gained some distance from Rios.

He didn't have a chance as Rios charged again, bringing his sword down before Thantos could try to evade. He reacted in time to block the attack, the blow taking him down to one knee as his sword trembled in his hands while Rios pressed down, intent on crushing him once and for all.

"Why do you struggle so much?" Rios asked as he loomed over him. "You're a deer with its neck already in a predator's jaw. It is pointless."

"A deer huh . . . is that all you see? Just the next meal," he replied as he locked eyes with the dog. "Well sorry to disappoint but if I'm going down, then I'm going down kicking."

Rios scuffed at him before kicking forward, nailing Thantos in the chest and punting him back like an old football. He landed nearly 5 meters away, his head smacking the ground with a loud thud. He groaned in pain as his vision swam, his grip on Hofund slacking as he tried to sit up. He felt a flare up pain race through his chest, accompanied with a renewed sting from the cut along his leg. '_Definitely broke a few ribs there,'_ he thought as he forced himself up, slowly regaining his footing while his body continued to protest.

Rios was stalking towards him, his face twisted into a cruel sneer. Thantos gave an exasperated sigh as he raised Hofund, preparing for another attack.

"Shut up!"

His eyes shifted off Rios and onto Kiara as she screamed at Aros, tears trailing down her face. Even though he knew Rios was getting closer, he couldn't take his eyes off Kiara. To see the pain in her eyes, watch her bow her head in defeat as Aros lifted one massive fist to bring down on her. He stood rigid, his heart racing as he watched the fist come down as time seemed to slow.

He tried to call out, say anything to snap her back to her senses but his voice failed him, his eyes locked onto the hulking grey fist descending onto one of his teammates. Then, in the last moment before the fist met its mark, Kiara brought her right hand up and stopped Aros' attack.

Thantos watched as she revealed herself, her true eyes looking just like those of lions, their wine red coloration giving her a feral yet beautiful appearance. She then slugged Aros in the gut, sending his body careening away as she righted herself with dark red aura pulsing around her. Taking in her image as a whole, the ferocity in her eyes, the air of power around her, he could truly see why she had once been titled a queen.

He watched as the aura around her thickened to the point of completely enveloping her and only allowing for a vague view of her darkened frame. He watched in a mix of awe and fear as her body grew, the sound of bones and muscles tearing being all he could hear as she grew to Aros' size before the aura around her dissipated. There she stood, now towering at 10 feet with a snarl aimed at Aros whom had taken a step back in apprehension.

Thantos couldn't blame him, it was a daunting sight. The skin along Kiara's biceps, obliques, and calves had torn, revealing the coiling muscle underneath. Whether she noticed or not, he couldn't tell. Then she started to run forward at a speed that shouldn't have been possible for that size, her every step shattering the floor beneath her. The moment she was close enough she lashed out at Aros with a right hook.

He tried to block the blow but it was pointless as Kiara's fist smashed into Aros' arm with a resounding snap as bone gave way to overwhelming force. Kiara followed the hook with an uppercut, slamming into Aros' jaw and sending him flying into one of the walkways lining the hangar before falling back to the floor. '_So that is the Bloody Queen, truly a force to behold,'_ Thantos thought as he returned his attention to Rios.

Rios wasn't paying attention to him, instead staring at Kiara and how she stalked towards his brother. He then hefted his blade as he prepared to charge towards her in the hopes of helping his brother. '_Oh no you don't!'_ Thantos thought as he forced his aching body to move, rushing towards Rios with a diagonal swing. Rios noticed him in time to block with his sword, but Thantos kept up the pressure to keep them locked together.

"Your fight is with me," Thantos said as he looked up at Rios' irritated face.

Rios grunted in frustration as he shoved his sword forward in an attempt to knock Thantos out of the way but he kept his footing.

"Get out of my way human!" Rios snarled as he pushed even harder, this time forcing Thantos to jump back or else get tripped over.

"You're not going anywhere," he retorted as he purposefully placed himself between Rios and the fight behind them. Judging by the sounds, Kiara was paying back Aros for everything he had done to her.

"You think you can stop me!?" Rios shouted as he hefted his sword. "I'll hack you to pieces and feed off your corpse after I've handled that bitch behind you."

Thantos glowered at Rios as his grip on Hofund tightened. "That supposed bitch is my teammate . . . and I won't let you lay a finger on her," he replied as his own frame and eyes began to glow a pale white coloration.

'_It's funny . . . my family was always associated with angels.'_

The aura began to intensify, making him glow as if he was being bathed in lights.

'_And then Ozpin decided to name me Lucifer, the fallen angel . . . how fitting.'_

The aura began to focus around his shoulder blades, slowly shifting and melding together as two distinct appendages formed. The aura began to slowly settle, the ruffling of feathers sounding out as his new features stretched at his sides. He glanced to his side to see them, this ethereal wings formed out of his aura, seemingly shifting back and forth between a solid and semi-solid state.

It was always an odd sensation, being able to feel through and control constructs that didn't even have nerves but it didn't matter. For now there was one thing to be done and that was kill Rios. He looked at the rabid faunus, noting the confusion in his eyes as he studied the new appearance.

He couldn't help but smirk as he readied Hofund at his side. '_I can't afford to be hit again, better finish this soon.'_ He dashed forward before Rios could think up a plan, aiming for another slash at Rios' gut. Rios moved to block the strike but it was a feint. Thantos ducked to the side at the last moment to flank around the unsuspecting faunus, then jumping above his shoulder before using the added maneuverability of his wings to propel himself across Rios' chest. As he did so he trailed Hofund, cleaving through the flesh just short of the collarbone as Rios howled in pain.

Once he landed to Rios' left, he pivoted around while simultaneously flapping his wings once and like a Nevermore, shooting a barrage of white feathers at Rios' face. The faunus' aura kept the feathers from plowing through his face but it didn't matter, the effect was enough as his face was riddled with numerous cuts including one nailing his left eye. Rios screamed bloody murder as he made a wild swing at Thantos while trying to cover his damaged eye with one hand but Thantos leapt back, gliding out of reach as he watched Rios.

'_One more . . .'_

"I'll . . . kill you!" Rios spat venomously as he glared at him with one eye.

"Actually, I'll be killing you . . ."

As he spoke his right wing began to draw forward as he extended his right arm to his side. The wing began to curl around his arm, molding to its contours as his left wing began to shrivel up and fade, the aura pooling into his right arm. Soon his right arm began to glow a focused white light, even as the glow spread to encompass the length of Hofund in his hand.

He then slowly brought his arms forward, gripping the hilt of Hofund with both hands before lowering the tip almost to the ground, aimed at his right side. His eyes were devoid of emotion, his voice like ice.

". . . Because I am . . ."

They both charged, closing the distance in mere moments. Thantos then jumped, bringing Hofund overhead as Rios swung his sword to meet him. He put his all into Hofund as the sword arced down, colliding with Rios' sword for only a moment before he sliced through. Hofund continued unhindered, carving through Rios like a newborn Grimm, until it met its end at his feet with Thantos landing in a kneeling position.

" . . . Your angel of death."

"Wha –"

Whatever Rios had been about to say died in his throat as a line of blood trailing from the crown of his skull to his hips appeared before more black blood sprayed out. Thantos watched as his eyes rolled into his head before his two sides fell apart, his body severed down the center in a flawless cut.

With Rios now dead Thantos released a heavy sigh as he released his semblance, the white glow fading away as he fell to one knee. His right arm was burning and his vision had become blurry again but he still couldn't rest, Kiara was still fighting.

He turned his head to the sound of a massive body hitting the ground, only to see Aros' final moments. Kiara had slammed Aros down onto his back, his body covered in an array of claw marks and tears. His left arm looked like it had every bone in it smashed to dust and both his dog ears had been ripped off. Kiara then turned Aros over before grabbing one of his shoulders and lifting him up to that he was on his knees. Then she reached over with his head with her right hand and trailing her left hand below his chin.

She then forced open his mouth, caving in some of his teeth in the process, before she started to slowly tug his mouth open. Thantos watched as Kiara ripped his mouth open while Aros screamed, only for her to continue until his head finally gave way, severing off at his jaw with one final blood curdling cry.

She let the headless corpse slump forward, the body still twitching as the nerves fired. She then looked towards him, her eyes locking with his before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then as she exhaled, she began to slowly shrink. It was the same as when she grew, her body seemingly breaking itself to return to her original state. It lasted for all of 15 seconds until she stood at her usual size.

She opened her eyes again, looking at him with a small and almost sad smile. Then she coughed once as blood leaked out of the corner of her mouth before she fell back.

"Kiara!" he shouted as he forced his body to move, running to her as quickly as he could.

He dropped to his knees beside her, placing his index finger on her neck looking for a pulse. It was weak and her breathing was shallow. He then looked at her body, the tears all bleeding profusely. '_Shit, if I don't seal those she will bleed out!'_ he thought as he pulled his coat off and began to tear it apart. He felt his scroll vibrate but ignored it as he tried his best at wrapping up Kiara's wounds.

As he finished bandaging the last of her tears he heard a monstrous roar come from outside the hangar behind him. Barely a second later, an enormous thunderclap followed with a flash of light. Then everything grew quiet aside from the sound of Kiara's breathing. He wasn't sure what had happened but for now all he could do was hope his teammates were ok and wait so he took out his scroll.

The screen blinked to life as the message icon vibrated, signaling a new message. He opened it up, noting that it was from Havasu, quickly skimming through it only to have his worry grow. '_What the hell does he mean by get him in the Head Office floor?' _The message was too brief, only stating that he was near a stairway and that he couldn't move.

"Fuck," he muttered as he looked to the entrance of the hanger. He didn't hear anymore fighting coming from outside. "I hope those two are ok at least . . ."

* * *

"Here's what we'll do," Lucian said as he looked between the Crato and the Minotaur.

"I'm going to try and keep it distracted while you charge up your next attack. It doesn't matter what happens to me, you do not let loose until I say so."

"Just what are you planning?" Crato asked as he looked at Lucian. He didn't like the 'last words' tone he was using.

". . ." Lucian looked at him for a moment before sighing as he turned his gaze to the enraged Grimm. "Don't miss."

Lucian bolted away, bee lining for the monster as Crato watched in shock. Lucian ran at a pace that Crato couldn't even track, closing the distance in a moment before he weaved around the Minotaur's legs, all the while lashing out with his left claws whenever there was an opening.

Crato then shook himself out of his stupor, shifting his eyes to his weapon, Gungnir. His grip tightened as he looked back to his partner as he milled around the monster. "Don't miss huh," he mumbled to himself as he widened his stance, using his left arm for balance as he began to focus his aura.

His frame began to glow a pale blue coloration as the air around him started to crackle with energy. He locked his eyes onto the Minotaur, oblivious to his presence as it swiped at his partner, a vain effort as Lucian moved in and out of the attacks. He ducked and rolled out of each attack without losing an ounce of momentum, taking advantage of any openings to injure the monster even more.

Crato kept flaring his aura, the very ground beneath him beginning to fracture as blue tendrils of electricity raced along his frame. As he continued to focus, the once silent aura began to hiss as the air heated around him. He felt his heart race as his output increased, a swirl of electricity revolving around him.

He channeled out the world around him, all his attention focused on his partner and waiting for the signal to attack. He watched as Lucian started to run circles around the Minotaur, his movement almost a blur of grey and black, as the beast failed to strike him. It tried to slam a fist on him but by the time the blow connected to the ground he was already behind it.

In that instant Lucian jumped onto its tail and bounded up it towards the Minotaur's body, reaching its shoulders before it realized that he was on its back. It reared up to try and shake him off but then Lucian jumped straight up, sailing up above its body with his left arm extended above him.

'_This is it!' _he thought as he then compressed the aura around him, forcing it into Gungnir. The dual bladed lance began to pulse with his power. He then hefted the lance into a throwing stance, drawing his right arm back as he took aim of the Minotaur. He watched as Lucian fell but this time with his own attack planned. His entire left arm was coated in the water created by his aura, forming a massive blade of grey water.

Lucian descended down on the Minotaur as it just realized he had been above it, looking up to see the wolf and his great sword coming down. It hardly had the time to register the danger it was in as Lucian gave an angry shout, swinging the sword down in front of the Minotaur. The edge tore through part of its head, splitting open its left eye and cheek as it continued on, cleaving into the thick armor along its chest.

The Minotaur bellowed in pain as it swiped at Lucian but before it could hit him Lucian glanced back at him, making eye contact as he mouthed one word, then its clawed hand slammed into him. As Lucian careened into the ground like a runaway meteor, Crato played back in his head what he'd seen, even as fear for his partner's life gripped him.

Lucian had looked at him for a moment as he mouthed 'Now,' before he actually smiled as the Minotaur stroke him.

"You . . . bastard!" Crato roared as he threw Gungnir, the throw sounding like an angry thunderclap as it raced towards the Minotaur.

Gungnir impaled the Minotaur in the center of the chest plate, along the cut that Lucian had gouged out with his attack. As it made contact, the Minotaur couldn't even make a sound, the lance searing through its armor and into its chest but it didn't stop there. Crato watched as Gungnir blasted out the other side of the monster, leaving a searing hole nearly 2 meters across in its chest.

The monster looked at him, blood pouring out of its face, as it gave a weak sort of grunt before it toppled back, causing a small tremor as its body impacted the ground. As the ground shook Crato dropped to his knees as he panted. That last attack had spent his aura, leaving him vulnerable to damage if they had anyone else to fight.

'_Maybe I'll recover a little before when run into anymore problems,'_ he hoped as he slowly stood and walked towards where he'd seen Lucian impact the ground.

"Damn wolf . . . the hell was he thinking, letting himself get hit like that," he grumbled to himself as he neared a sizable crater.

He stopped at the edge, looking down at its occupant, resisting the urge to hop down and knock him over the head. Lucian was just lying there, seemingly studying the clouds passing overhead with a relaxed face, not even bothering to acknowledge his partner scowling down at him.

"How the hell are you stargazing?" he asked irritably as he crossed his arms.

"Can't stargaze with these clouds," Lucian replied blandly as he looked towards him before smirking.

"Wipe that damn smirk off your face!"

"Hey, we just took down an S-Classed Grimm. I can smirk and smile all I want."

"Just barely and you nearly killed yourself in the process!" he shouted angrily.

"Well I didn't . . . though I did completely bust my right arm," Lucian replied before he slowly sat up with a pained groan.

Crato was going to say more but then his scroll vibrated. He gave Lucian another quick glare before pulling out the device and opening the message menu to read whatever he'd just received.

"What do we have?" Lucian asked as he got to his fight, his right arm hanging limp at his side.

"Havasu . . . said something about getting him at some floor in the facility," he answered as he put the scroll away.

"Then let's meet up with the others," Lucian continued as he started got to his feet.

"Give me a moment," he replied as he turned towards the Grimm corpse. He walked around it, looking for any sign of where Gungnir could have landed. '_Hope it didn't go too far.'_

He walked for a minute or so until he spotted a metallic glint several meters ahead of him. He jogged over and knelt down to pick up his weapon, one of the ends soaked in the Grimm's blood. With his weapon back in hand he returned to Lucian, whom had just finished using the remains of his discarded coat to form an impromptu sling for his arm.

The two looked at each other and nodded before beginning to move towards the hanger. As they got closer they could see the signs of carnage left by their teammates as they'd fought their way in. Bodies littered the floor, the air thick with the scent of blood, as they walked through the remains.

"Hey!"

They both snapped their attention forward and spotted Thantos kneeling down beside someone. They both started to jog towards him and soon noticed that it was Kiara, her body covered in temporary bandages.

"What happened?" Lucian asked as he kneeled beside the lioness.

"She passed out after taking down Aros," Thantos answered.

"Who?" Crato asked.

Thantos gestured to a hulking corpse that Crato hadn't noticed before. It was a huge grey body with the upper part of the head ripped clean off. There was another body off to the right, though that one had been cut down the center leaving for a clear view of his insides.

"Your handy work?" Crato asked with a point to which Thantos nod before both looked back to Kiara.

"Her heartbeat is weak," Lucian said as he checked her hand, a sizable welt marking the left side. "We need to get her to a hospital."

"Then we should get in contact with Brick," Thantos said as he pulled out his scroll.

"That'll be good but we also have to find the others," Crato added.

"Then let's find them. We should have some time before Brick gets back," Lucian agreed as he stood up.

Thantos nodded as he gingerly picked Kiara up in a bridal carry.

"How will we know which way they went?" Crato asked as the group turns towards what he assumed was an access tunnel.

"We'll follow my nose," Lucian replied as group entered the tunnel. "Let's just hope that they are in better condition than we are . . ."

* * *

**Author's Rant: Only one more chapter for the mission! It's time for a demon to let loose! . . . among other things.**


	45. Where the Heart Is

**Author's Note: And chapter 45! The conclusion to the Slayer mission in the Razorback mountains! I truly hope this chapter's end satisfies, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

Athena lashed out with her whip, hoping to break his guard but he deflected the tip while charging at her. She grit her teeth in frustration as she formed a crystal dagger in her hand and used it to block his red sword, sparks flying as the continued their fight. Though she had remain largely on the defensive, they were more or less evenly matched. He was skilled, no doubt about it, but his attacks paled in comparison to how her teammates fought whenever they spared.

She rolled to the side, narrowly dodging another shot from his sheath/shotgun. '_You aren't getting me with that again,'_ she thought as she wheeled around and threw her dagger at him, forcing him to bat it away while she gained some distance. With the momentary pause she took a quick scan of her surroundings. She saw Dante fighting against Alluria, the two milling around as their blades clashed. She wasn't sure if she imagined it but it almost seemed as if Dante was grinning while he attacked, somehow enjoying their death match.

While his expression and the waves of bloodlust coming off him did worry her, she couldn't let her mind dwell on it and risk exposing herself to the faunus attacking her. She looked back towards the, what she assumed was an ox or bull typed faunus, as he replaced his sword in its sheath. He looked at her, the mask adorning his face hiding whatever he was thinking as.

"It's been a while since I faced a human as skilled as you," he said in a low tone.

"I can't say the same thing," she retorted as she formed another dagger, this one reaching nearly a foot in length with a serrated edge.

" . . ."

The ox didn't respond, instead cocking his head to the side as if he was looking past her. She couldn't help but momentarily glance behind her as well, wondering what had gotten his attention. It was Lily, peeking from around a large crate Athena had hidden her behind, as she watched them fight.

Athena returned her attention to the ox, noting how the grip on his sword tightened as he looked at the girl.

"You aren't going to lay a finger on her," Athena said with an icy glare.

"And what business do you have stealing a weapon?" he asked as he widened his stance.

"A weapon? Is that all you bastards see? She is just a little girl!" she shouted angrily.

"No, not anymore. That . . . thing isn't anything more than a walking weapon," he replied, his tone becoming particularly venomous when he said 'thing'.

"Bastard," she growled back as she rushed him, this time leading with dagger in her left hand. He drew his blade and instantly blocked her slash but failed to notice that she'd dropped her whip and instead drew out her M1911. With his sword occupied she aimed straight into his gut and fired off three rounds before he grunted in pain and jumped back, landed on one knee.

She knew that even at that close a range he would have had time to focus his aura and have taken the brunt of the damage but was satisfied to see that each round had managed to at least pierced his skin before stopping. He quickly picked out the remnants of the bullets before looking back at her with what she was sure was an angry glare. She smirked in response as she attacked again, this time leading with a few shots as she closed the distance.

He swatted the bullets away as he charged as well before using his shotgun to return the favor. She didn't deflect them with her dagger like he did, instead quickly forming a thin layer of crystal over her neck and chest. She felt the sting of the rounds as they hit her in the chest but ignored it as she closed the distance before slashing away at his throat. He blocked with his blade while shifting the shotgun back into a sheath before using it to strike her in the shoulder with enough force to knock her away.

As she fell back, she turned it into a roll and landed back on her feet with her dagger at the ready. The ox had followed after her, swinging his sword with blinding speed as he tried to cut her down. She tried her best to avoid the edge while keeping in mind that his sheath could shift back to a shotgun at any moment. She managed to maintain his pace for about 30 seconds before her foot stumbled against one of the corpses left by Dante.

In that moment that she lost her balance the ox capitalized it thrusting his sword forward. It connected with her left shoulder, the tip managing to break past her aura before she backpedaled away with a cry of pain. She looked at the cut, glad to see it wasn't deep but the attack had taken a sizable bite of her aura.

She glared back at the ox as he re-sheathed his sword, preparing for the next round but before either of them could move she heard the distinct sound of metal breaking. They both glance towards the noise to a surprising sight.

There stood Dante and Alluria, both on the ground just a few meters away from each other but that wasn't what surprised her. What surprised her is that Dante stood, looking at his machetes that had both been cut in half, the top halves lying at his sides. '_No way . . . she cut through iridium swords, then that means . . . oh no!' _she thought as she watched the vampire smirk, no doubt feeling triumphant in having broken Dante's weapons.

Dante on his end started to chuckle, making the vampire's smirk disappear, before he threw the remains of his machetes away without a second glance.

"Finally," he said as his smirk turned to a grin while his right hand grabbed the hilt of Draco Ira, "Let's play."

He then drew the sword in one fluid motion, the air around him suddenly becoming thick with a burning pressure. Athena looked at the blade for the first time and could only think two things: how beautiful the sword was and how terrifying it was. The sword was pure black, measuring nearly three feet, holding a straight edge up to a fine point. Even to the amateur eye, anyone could tell it was truly a masterfully crafted weapon, designed to effortlessly cut through any target with cruel elegance.

But then there was the presence coming off the blade, as if it had a mind and will of its own. The sword pulsed with an old, dark aura unlike any she had ever felt. It was as if the sword was able to personify savagery, a sickening level of bloodlust radiating off it as it encompassed the whole of the hanger around them.

Even with her share of horrid experience, the sensation coming off the blade was in its own category. She felt her legs tremble as her breathing became labored, her heart racing as panic built up in her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the ox wasn't fairing much better, having dropped to one knee as he panted. Even the vampire had taken several paces back, her face showing her fear as she looked at the dragon.

Dante kept grinning as he looked at her, his aura flaring around his body but something was off. To his right side and encompassing his arm, the aura was black with traces of red and it looked like it was spreading. Then Dante disappearing, the only evidence that he'd stood there being a large crater that erupted at the moment he disappeared. There was silence for all of a second before Dante appeared behind the vampire and batted her away with left back-handed strike, sending her careening into a far of wall, creating a cloud of dust.

A moment later the vampire appeared out of the dust, trying to fly up and out of Dante's reach but it was useless. With unrivaled power Dante jumped up, appearing just above the vampire. She only got one glance before he kicked down, nailing her in the lower back as she plummeted back to the ground with a pained cry. He then fell straight on top of her, landing on her back with a sickening crunch making the vampire scream as blood splattered out of her mouth.

His grin grew as she screamed before he aimed the sword down and impaled it through one her right wing, nailing her the ground. Alluria started to cry right then and there as Dante started to slowly twist the blade, a series snaps and cracks following.

Athena had to divert her gaze, unable to bear watching, even as she listened to the sound of bone and muscle being torn mixed with Alluria's screams. She instead looked to her side and spotted the ox faunus getting back on his feet with a grunt, when the sound of bone tearing stopped abruptly.

"Another!" she then heard Dante shout before he appeared beside the ox, covered in blood up to his shoulder and swung his sword down on him, having completely forgotten about the vampire.

Athena had to commend the ox. He had managed to intercept Dante's swing but was starting to fall back as Dante seemed to effortlessly push him with only one hand. Then, as quick as a viper, Dante lashed out with his left hand and nailed the ox across his face with his claws. The ox fell back with an agonized cry of pain, dropping his blade as both hands went to cover his bleeding face.

Dante just stood there, chuckling as he watched the ox faunus writhe in pain. Athena glanced back to the vampire and saw that she was lying motionless on the ground, the bone of her left wing jutting out as Dante had slowly pulled it apart.

"More . . ."

Athena felt like her blood had turned to ice as she looked back to Dante. He had his eyes on her now, having left the injured faunus to suffer, but they weren't the eyes she knew. The normally dark crimson coloration of his soleras was now pitch black and the tendrils within his irises, though once red and then blue, were also black. She took a step back, feeling a fear that she hadn't experienced since the first time she saw his eyes.

He started to stalk towards her, flashing his fangs as he continued to grin at her. '_No, this is wrong . . . that isn't Dante . . . it can't be,' _she thought as she backed away. Then a piercing scream came from behind her but she didn't look back to see its source. She knew that it was Lily that had screamed, and who could blame her, part of Athena wanted to scream and run as well.

Dante's grin disappeared, instead replaced with a savage snarl. Athena knew what was happening, he had just seen Lily and judging by his stance, he was getting ready to attack her. '_I have to stop him!'_ she thought as the worry for Lily snapped her out of her panic.

"Dante!" she called as she flailed her arms to get his attention.

It worked for a moment as he glanced at her but then he returned his attention to Lily. He rushed forward with his sword poised to strike. '_No!'_ Athena jumped in his way, channeling as much aura as she could into her left hand and forming a thick layer of crystal over it. She managed to catch his sword, only to have it cut through the crystal and bite into her hand.

She stifled down the desire to scream, the feeling of the sword cutting into her hand as if the metal was burning. She looked up at Dante's face, his expression turned to confusion as he looked at her.

"Dante, wake up!" she screamed at him as she held onto the sword, even as the pain intensified. "Please, this isn't you!"

For a moment his expression changed from confusion to concern, his eyes darting to the blade before returning to her. She could see his eyes tremble as he looked at her but didn't, as if he wasn't truly seeing but something else. '_I'm sorry . . .'_ she thought as she balled her right hand into a fist and formed a layer of crystal over it, '_but I need you to snap out of it . . .' _She then slugged him across the cheek with as much force as she could muster.

Even with the crystal, she felt a jarring pain return through her arm, the impromptu armor beginning to crack. She didn't care though, she hit him again, and kept doing so until the crystal finally shattered. His lip was busted and a large bruise was forming on his cheek as he shook his head before refocusing on her.

"A-Athena . . ." he mumbled as he looked at her, a familiar sadness brimming in them.

He then looked at his sword and how it was still digging into her before he gasped.

"No . . . no . . . no," he repeated as he looked back to her.

"Dante . . . please . . . you need to stop," she said as locked eyes with him.

"I . . . I can't," he replied as a tear leaked out. "You need . . . to run . . ."

"I'm not running anywhere!" she said.

"Please . . . I'll kill you," he said as he closed his eyes while turning his head away, the grip on his sword tightening. "I can't control it."

"Yes you can," she returned as she cupped his cheek and forced him to look at her.

He tried to shake his head as his tears increased, "I can't."

She looked into his eyes that even with the strange coloration, still showed his fear and uncertainty. She thought back to every time she had seen that look, how she had tried to comfort him but now he needed to face them, to conquer the source of his greatest fear.

"Dante," she said evenly. "Do you remember the poem you once showed me?"

"What?" he asked softly.

"Recite it with me," she instructed.

"W-why?"

She didn't explain, instead starting off. "Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole . . ."

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

". . . I thank whatever gods may be . . . for my unconquerable soul," he said in a whisper.

As he finished those lines he winced in pain as the hilt of Draco Ira began to smoke in his grip.

She knew that he needed to continue so she picked up where he left off.

"In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried out loud . . ."

He looked at her with trembling eyes but followed up.

"Under the bludgeoning's of chance . . . my head is bloody but unbowed . . ."

The smoking increased as Dante grit his teeth in pain, the entire length of the sword beginning to pulse angrily.

"Beyond the place of wrath and tears, looms but the horror of the shade . . ." she said.

" . . . A-And yet the menace of years . . . finds and shall find me unafraid . . ."

Dante's entire frame was trembling as his knees buckled. Athena let go of the sword as her knees buckled as well but she stayed determined as she looked at him.

"It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments of the scroll . . ."

Dante panted as he looked at her, a familiar blue hue coloring the tendrils in his irises, before he finished it.

"I . . . am the master of my fate . . . I . . .am the captain of my soul." He said with increased strength but as the last word left his mouth, she could see a black and red aura manifest around the sword, an entity of pure savagery hell bent on consuming him.

"You are!?" she shouted as she placed her hand on his chest, feeling the familiar aura pulsing beneath his vest.

" . . . INVICTUS!" he roared back as his aura flared off him, a brilliant light of silver and hues of blue as a flame erupted around his arm and encompassed the sword. It was as if his flames attacked the aura coming from the sword, dissolving it into oblivion.

He kept flaring his aura for 10 seconds before it slowly died down, his arms falling limp at his sides as he looked at her, his eyes back to the draconic form that she knew and loved. The an audible snap rang out, drawing their eyes to the black sword. They watched as a large crack spread through the length of the sword, starting at the base and spreading to the tip. Then, with one final snap, the sword broke apart into 3 pieces.

They both looked at the broken weapon for a few seconds before Dante sighed and dropped the hilt of the sword, then slowly turned to her as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek. She leaned into the gentle touch, giving him a soft smile as he ran his thumb over her cheek. He then glanced down at her bleeding hand before taking hold of it with his hands.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered as he ripped of a piece of his coat and started to bandage her hand.

"It's ok," she said softly. "You weren't yourself when it happened."

" . . ."

He stayed silent as he finished the bandage before getting to his feet as he offered her his free hand. She took it and got to her feet as well before they both began to look around. Athena spotted a bloody trail leading to the far off wall. There leaning against the wall was the ox faunus, one hand covering the right side of his face while his left side was hidden by what remained of his mask.

"What are you going to do about him?" she asked with a point.

"End his suffering," Dante replied evenly as he started to move towards the faunus.

Then Athena felt another killing intent appear out of nowhere. She looked at Dante as he wheeled around and jumped at her, enveloping her in with his left arm before a gunshot went off followed by Dante crying out in pain.

"Dante!" she shouted as he released her to turned around, a bloody gunshot wound in his lower back.

Another shot rang out but this time Dante brought his left arm forward, the bullet sparking as it collided with his silver scales. Athena looked past Dante's shoulder towards the other end of the hanger and saw the man dressed in a lab coat from before holding a handgun in one hand and the briefcase in another.

The man's hand was trembling as he looked at Dante with wild eyes, firing off several more rounds that Dante intercepted with ease. Dante then let out a blood curdling growl as he started to move forward but as he moved Athena picked up the sound of engines overhead. She looked up to see 4 airships similar to those of the Atlas military descend from the cloud cover, all painted in black and red markings. '_Those aren't from Atlas,' _she thought as she formed a small crystal dagger in her hand.

Dante had noticed the airships as well, observing them as they lowered to just over 10 meters above them. Then three of their cargo holds opened up and soldiers started to jump out. Some were dressed in White Fang uniforms, others in some darker variation with dark robes and black masks. At least 20 of them landed in front of Dante with more on the way, armed to the teeth with large assault rifles and short swords, some taking aim at Athena.

Before they could open fire Dante rushed to her side and grabbed her while jumping towards where Lily had been hiding and bracing them both behind his body. A hail of bullets started to rain down on them, battering Dante's back as he grimaced.

"Keep her safe . . . I'll handle them," he said through clenched teeth as he looked at her.

Before she could respond he grabbed the shoulder of his vest and ripped it off, pulling along his coat and under shirt leaving him completely topless. Then he growled as his the scales on his forearms began to expand, racing up his arms and over his shoulders. The dull thud of the bullets hitting his back was replaced by the sharp crack of bullets hitting something solid.

In 5 seconds Athena saw a form of Dante she didn't know he could achieve. His scales now covered over his arms, part of his chest, and the sides of his abdomen with the crystal in his chest glowing a bright blue. The scales also trailed up the sides of his neck and up to his cheek bones, the rim of each scale being scarlet. Now getting a full view Athena remembered what Lucian and Dante had first explained about the Alphas.

'They can shift, become more beast than human.'

So this was Dante's shift, his scales looking far more like crocodilian as the scales overlapped to form an impenetrable defense.

He then looked into her eyes for a moment before leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Stay safe," he whispered.

He wheeled around with a savage snarl as he dashed towards their assailants, several of whom started to panic as the Alpha descended on them. Athena could see that his scales had also covered his spine and expanded around his body. She watched as he milled through the soldiers, using a combination of his claws, and tail to dismember them with brutal efficiency. They fired and slashed at him but their weapons bounced off harmlessly, unable to pierce his armor.

Lily whimpered beside her as she watched the carnage, her eyes trembling as they followed Dante. Athena didn't want her to have to see so she gently took hold of Lily and pulled her into her arms, the girl responding by hiding her face in her shoulder as she laced her arms around Athena's neck. While the girl clutched onto her, Athena looked back towards the fight.

Over half of the soldiers were lying dead, the other half desperately trying to keep avoid being reached by Dante but he didn't relent. As he continued Athena noticed that 1 of the airships had lowered more than the rest and had three large cables hanging out of the back connected to a wench.

She followed the cables down and saw that there were three soldiers connected by vests to them, each carrying a person in their arms. One supported up the ox faunus, the next had the unconscious vampire in his arms, only one of her wings remaining, and the last secured the man in the lab coat. Then the wench started to reel them in, hauling them back to the airship for an evac.

"Dante, the ship!" she called as she pointed to it.

Dante glanced at her before looking at the ship. He growled as he crouched to jump but before he could kick off one of the other ships started to shoot him with a mounted gun, buying time for the rescue ship to get out of range. Some of the rounds managed to hit Dante, making him roar in pain before he jumped backwards to avoid the hail of armor piercing rounds. It looked like even those rounds weren't enough to actually make it past his armor but the impact had hurt enough to momentarily stop him.

She watched as he suddenly took a deep breath, a silvery glow coming from inside his mouth before he let loose an ear shattering roar but that wasn't all. As he roared a torrent of silver and blue flames erupted out of his jaws like a focused cannon, blasting through the airship the same way his arrow had destroyed the hanger gates before. As the smoldering wreck fell out of the sky, the soldiers began to turn tail in a panic.

Athena gawked at the sight, watching as the remaining airships started to pull away as fast as they could, abandoning the remains of their forces to their fate. '_They got away,'_ she thought bitterly as she watched Dante end the last of the soldiers with ease, tearing them apart in all of a few seconds before he dropped to one knee.

She got to her feet with Lily in her arms as she walked towards Dante. He was panting as the scales on his body began to recede, as if they were sinking back into his skin without a trace. Once she was beside him he stood up with a groan before looking at her.

"You ok?" he asked as he turned to her.

"Yeah, what about you?" she asked as she looked over his body, the image of his full armor still on her mind.

"More or less, feel like I might pass out though," he replied as he glanced at Lily in her arms.

"W-What was that?" she asked.

He sighed softly as he looked at his armored knuckle. "My shift ability. I went to a near complete shift."

"So you can grow armor around your entire body?"

He nodded. "I condense that aura that normally shields my body to form those scales. They are almost impenetrable but still consume aura the same way a standard defense does. That's why I usually make do with the scales on my arms only," he explained.

"And that . . . attack?"

He chuckled softly. "Dragons are usually associated with breathing fire, it only makes sense that it's one of my stronger attacks."

"And the sword?" she asked as she gave a wary glance at its remains behind her.

"I'm not sure," he said as he followed her line of sight. "This may be weird but it felt like it's . . . well dead, empty even. There wasn't any trace left of the old aura."

"Then your nightmare with it is over," she said as she lightly cupped his cheek with one of her hands and brought his face closer until their foreheads touched.

"Looks like it," he replied as he leaned into her touch and closed his eyes, breathing steadily.

They remained quiet for a few moments, the only sound being of the wind as it passed over the open hanger doors above them. They slowly broke apart and looked around, Dante's eyes settling on Lily in her arms.

"How is she?" he asked.

Athena looked at the girl in her arms, using her free hand to gently brush back the hair obscuring her face and saw that Lily had passed out.

"She's out cold."

"The adrenaline must have run out," Dante added as a breeze passed over them and Lily shivered. "We need to get her something warmer."

He started to look around for something to drape over Lily but everything was either in taters or soaked in blood. He clicked his teeth in frustration as he picked through the bodies until Athena got an idea.

"Hey Dante."

"Hmm?" he mumbled as he looked at her.

"Why don't you hold her?"

"What?" he said in surprise.

"Your temperature will keep her warm," she continued.

"But she is terrified of me," he defended as he walked up to her.

"Maybe but right now it won't matter. She needs to stay warm and you can do that. She might freeze otherwise." As if to validate the statement Lily shivered again.

Athena gave Dante a pleading look until he sighed in defeat before stepping closer and gently taking Lily from her arms. He positioned her into a bridal carry with her arms tucked onto her stomach. She stopped shivering, instead unconsciously snuggling closer as she searched for more warmth before she sighed contently. Dante looked at Athena, unsure of what to do with the child in his arms so Athena gave him a gentle smile.

"It's ok . . . just hold on to her," she said soothingly as she took of her coat and draped it over the girl to shield her from any more wind.

"Won't you get cold?" he asked.

"I can handle it for a while," she answered as she fished out her scroll.

She noticed that it had 3 messages. The first was from Havasu and how he was in the facility waiting for pick up, then another from Brick saying that he was heading to the coordinates he'd received with an ETA of 10 minutes. The last was from Crato informing them that they had Havasu and were heading up to the top of the facility.

"The others will be here soon," she told Dante.

"That's good. We can finally head home."

Ah home, the thought of a warm bath and soft bed made Athena's legs feel tired.

"Yeah . . . home sounds nice."

* * *

"What you did was not only dangerous, it was irresponsible!"

The cat's ears flattened as she looked down at her feet, her teammates watching quietly from Weiss' bed, not intent on getting the scalding she was from the bunny. Velvet on her end was seething, having stormed to their dorm the moment Blake had messaged her about what happened at the docks, looking down at Blake as she continued.

"What were you thinking? Do you know how bad it could have gone!?"

"But I . . ." Blake tried to defend but stopped.

"But what?" Velvet asked as she crossed her arms.

"I . . . I just thought that if it really was the White Fang then I should put a stop to it."

"Then inform a teacher, call the police, anything else, not just go off with someone you know next to nothing about!" Velvet replied with a stamp of the foot making Blake flinch.

"I didn't want to bring you into my troubles," Blake responded with a quivering voice.

"Blake . . ." Velvet said with a softening tone. "The whole point of us being in a pack is to rely on each other and your team is here for you as well. Just think of how worried anyone of us would have been if something happened to you, or Ruby for that matter"

Blake looked up at her. "I'm sorry."

Velvet looked at her face, knowing that she truly was sorry. She felt her anger begin to subside as she kneeled down in front of Blake and brushed her thumb over Blake's cheek.

"What matters is that you both are ok."

She then pulled Blake into a soft hug, the cat returning the gesture as Velvet added softly, "Just let me know next time something like this comes up."

Blake nodded as she pulled back with a faint smile before she looked to her team. "I'm sorry for not letting you girls know and for getting you mixed up in it Ruby."

"It's ok," Ruby said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "What's a bruise and a burnt skirt anyways, though that was my own fault for looking away."

"Yeah, just let us know next time. Don't just run off on your own," Weiss agreed.

"We're your team after all, we'll always have your back," Yang added making Blake smile as she wiped away the last of her tears.

Now feeling far calmer, Velvet stepped back to be able to see all four girls as she asked. "So what happened after the fighting ended? I only got a few details in before I . . . umm."

"Went full scolding mode?" Yang quipped.

Velvet blushed lightly as she responded, "Yeah that."

"Well," Blake started. "After Roman escaped and the rest of the White Fang were knocked out I found Ruby near one of the warehouses with her skirt partially burning, trying to swat it out. Then the girl we saw in Vale earlier today joined us as the police and paramedics started to arrive. Yang and Weiss arrived soon after while the police asked us questions."

"What happened to the monkey faunus . . . you said his name was Sun?" Velvet continued.

"We don't know. After the paramedics checked him out he just said see yah later and left," Ruby answered. "And come to think about it, Penny just up and disappeared too."

"I saw her leave with some man dressed in a uniform," Blake said earning some curious looks. "I'm not exactly sure but I think it looked a lot like the uniform for the Atlas military but the colors were wrong."

"That's odd . . . do you recall any insignias or markers?" Weiss asked as she tapped her chin.

"Umm . . . he had one hanging on his belt. It looked like a shield with a phantom of the opera mask embellished on it," Blake answered.

"Phantom of the opera?" Ruby asked.

"They are the two masks you normally see used in live comedies or tragedies. They are pure white, one with a smiling face and the other looking like it is crying," Weiss explained.

"Which mask was it?" Velvet asked.

"The tragic mask," Blake replied.

"Well, it's common for divisions from the Atlas military to have some form of shield on their uniforms but I've never heard of an emblem using the tragic mask," Weiss said.

"Then let's just chalk it up to another weird thing that happened tonight," Yang added as she stretched her legs. "By the way, are we heading to bed any time soon? It's like 3 am and I'm beat."

The girls murmured their agreement until Velvet's scroll beeped. She fished it out and opened up the message she'd received, her eyes going wide as she read through it.

"What is it?" Blake asked curiously.

"It's Coco, she and Fox were returning to the dorm from a late night sparring session when they bumped into Thantos. She said he met them near the sparring arena and that he was heading from his dorm to the hospital wing."

"What!? The Slayers already returned!?" Ruby asked as she bolted to Velvet's side to read the scroll for herself.

"Why the hospital wing?" Blake asked with alarm.

"It says that some of the Slayers got roughed up but nothing critical," Ruby answered making Blake relax.

"We are heading there now," Velvet said as she put away the scroll.

"I'll get team JNPR," Ruby added before she rushed out of the dorm and rapidly knocked on the door across from them.

"Well there goes my beauty sleep," Yang groaned as she walked out as well.

Velvet, Weiss, and Blake followed, meeting a tired looking and hastily dressed team JNPR in the hall.

"Where are we headed?" Jaune asked as the group started to move down the hall, to which Velvet answered.

"Hospital wing, second floor, common room D."

* * *

**Author's Rant: . . . welp . . . that happened. Twists and turns in every direction, some blood, and even a little heartfelt interactions. Please let me know in comments and reviews your thoughts, it helps me grow as a writer.**

**Till next time . . . Feels ahead! **


	46. Weighing The Unknowns

**Author's Note: A little early just for your enjoyment! I hope you all fine the setting refreshingly lighter (though still serious) than the previous trend. Enjoy!**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Dante watched as the last of the nurses left, leaving the Slayers alone in the spacious room. It was a larger common room, used to house multiple injured that weren't in critical condition, and allowed for teams to stay together if they were admitted together. Right now only 2 of the 4 beds were being used. Kiara was in the bed closest to the window, sleeping soundly under the effect of pain killers, with several bandages on her head and arms. The other was Havasu who had adjusted his bed up so he could sit up and was picking at the hospital gown he'd been forced to wear.

The rest of them had gone to their dorms and changed before returning to the hospital wing as soon as they could.

"Stop picking at it already," Thantos ordered from his seat near Havasu's bed.

"I can't, it's itchy," Havasu replied with a pout.

"Then deal with it, you should be asleep after all," Lucian commented from his seat at the foot of an unused bed. His right arm was in a sling and his hand was wrapped up though the doctors expected his arm to be fully operational in less than 24 hours.

"I still can't believe you went ahead and cauterized your cut with burn dust," Crato added, standing beside Lucian with a few bandages along his arm.

"Hey, at least it kept me from bleeding out," Havasu replied with a smirk.

"Crazy bastard," Thantos muttered.

"Whatever, just try to stay still while all your injuries heal," Dante said as he looked around at the Slayers before resting his gaze on Athena as she leaned against the wall beside him. "That goes for all of you. Don't overexert until your bodies and auras recover, am I clear?"

"Ahh you do care," Crato chirped as he pretended to huge an imaginary person.

Dante ignored him, still looking at Athena as she fidgeted with the bandages around her left hand. '_She's still worried,' _he thought as he looked at her. After they had arrived and rushed Havasu and Kiara, Ozpin had arrived on scene and asked Dante to leave Lily with one of the doctors for a checkup. He and Athena hadn't been exactly intent on following the directive but the doctor, the same small woman that had checked on him during his own hospitalization, had made a solid argument that Lily needed to be checked since she had just been rescued from a danger zone.

As they took her Athena had asked Ozpin what was going to be done after her check-up but he had declined to give a straight answer, saying that they would be informed of any news. In other words, that until he came to a decision about what to do with her and her status as an unknown weapon, they would not be allowed near her. That had been nearly two hours ago and he could see that it was taking all of her will to not march into Ozpin's office demand to see Lily.

He gently rested his hand on her shoulder, making her look at him with anxious eyes.

"It's going to be ok," he said soothingly. He could see her relax, if only slightly, as she softly nodded and took his hand in her left, interlacing their fingers.

"Cute," Havasu chuckled from his bed, getting the partners to give him half-hearted glares.

After some brief silence Thantos cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before fixing his nearly white eyes on Dante.

"You think I can ask you something?" he said in a low voice.

Dante nodded.

"Just what is Kiara's semblance? I saw only the result and it was . . . overwhelming to say the least," he continued.

Dante glanced at the sleeping lioness, watching as her chest rose and fell for a few seconds before returning his attention to Thantos.

"Sure, but keep it between us."

The other Slayers nodded so Dante began.

"Kiara's semblance allows her to grow her body. As her size increases so does her strength by an exponential factor. I've seen her use it twice, once growing to nearly 20 feet tall but I don't know what her upper limit for growth is."

"Wow," Lucian said as he looked at the lioness.

"Yeah, because of her semblance she can take the already legendary strength of the Red Lions and increase it. It isn't an exaggeration to say she is the physically strongest faunus alive when she uses it, even surpassing any of the Kishin," Dante added.

"You mean than the Ten Demon Lords Lucian told us about?" Crato asked to which Dante nodded.

"But if she is so powerful, then why doesn't she use it more often?" asked Athena.

"Because of the price," Dante answered earning perplexed looks. "The use of her semblance has two backlashes. When she forces her body to grow, the stress rips apart bits of her body. The larger she gets the worse the damage and the longer it takes to heal, that's why she had those tears along her arms and calves. Then when she reverts to her normal size, the pressure of her muscles compressing to 'deflate' sometimes breaks the bones around them."

"Ok, and the second backlash?" Havasu asked.

"The damage to her body is proportional to her growth but once she reaches whatever size she wanted, staying at that size doesn't cause any more tearing. The drawback is that her aura gets affected the longer she holds the size. Her aura channels get disarrayed from the change, not to mention it consumes aura at a rapid pace. Once she reverts, her aura doesn't recover for at least 24 hours or more, depending on how long she used her semblance." Dante finished.

"So that's why you nearly flipped when I told you she used her semblance to fight Aros," Thantos whispered. "And I thought my semblance left me vulnerable."

"What?" Lucian asked.

"Well, since Dante told us Kiara and we know almost everyone else's, then might as well explain mine," Thantos replied. "Long story short, my semblance condenses my aura to form angel wings."

"Really?" asked Athena with a tilt of the head.

"Yep, they are semi-solid and come with a few perks. I can use them to hover, propel myself in mid-air, and even fire off feathers like a Nevermore. I can also bind my wings onto my arms to form an armor like construct, then channel the energy into Hofund and use it to cut almost any opponent down."

"So that's why he was cut in half," Crato commented.

Thantos nodded. "The only drawback is that while I have the wings, my body doesn't have any aura shielding. My body becomes like that of any regular person and all it takes is one well aimed hit to take me out."

"Well shit," Havasu added.

"Your turn," Dante said.

"Why me? You also have some explaining to do sir," Havasu replied with a point. "I want to know how the hell was there over 30 bodies lying around that hanger, surrounded with everything from .50 caliber machine guns, swords, and even a damn striker class airship looking like it got blown in half, with not a single scratch on you."

"Um well," Dante replied as he glanced at Athena but she just gave him a smile and squeeze of his hand. "I sort of . . . breathed fire at the airship,"

"Like a full on flamethrower," Crato interrupted.

"No, more like a cannon," Athena answered earning some wide eyes.

"Anyways . . ." Dante continued. "As for the soldiers, I used a shift to cover my body in scales. That's why the guns and swords didn't hurt me, it did sting like a bitch though."

"It was pretty cool," Athena added almost sheepishly.

"So you can make yourself indestructible? Great, next thing we know, you can just look at someone and tell them to drop dead," Crato said.

"Oh don't worry, that trick only works on inferior minds like yours," Dante quipped back making Crato flip him off.

The Slayers started to collectively chuckle, the tension in the air beginning to lesson as everyone settled down.

"So," Havasu said after a minute or so, breaking the silence. "Anyone know when everyone else will arrive?"

"Who?" asked Thantos.

"Our mentees, who else?" Havasu retorted.

"But I told Coco and Fox to head back to their dorm after I bumped into them," Thantos said. "None of them should be coming here at this hour."

"Did you honestly think that they wouldn't tell Velvet and from her it would go to Blake to team RWBY and so on?" Dante deadpanned.

"Well . . . I was hoping they would wait until tomorrow," Thantos replied with the faintest blush of embarrassment.

"Sure," Dante said sarcastically as he closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings. He felt his team's auras, then extended the reach out to about 20 meters giving him a clear sense of the space within his range. He caught new signatures closing in from one end of the hall, numbering 12 from his best guess.

"3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . ." he said just as the door to the room swung open.

"You guys are ok!" shouted Ruby as she charged into the room, tackling Dante with a semblance enhanced hug.

He couldn't help but chuckle as Ruby clung onto his waist, ruffling her hair as the others streamed in and gave their greetings. As soon as Ruby let go of him she rushed Athena, repeating the hug but this time without the speed. With Dante now free of the little redhead two others jumped him in hugs as well, a pair of rabbit ears brushing up against his face.

"Glad to see you all too," Dante said as he hugged Velvet and Blake back. He looked around the room, each of the Slayers getting their own affections.

The rest of team CFVY was speaking to Havasu and Thantos. Nora had pulled Crato into a bear hug nearly lifting him off his seat while the rest of the team and Lucian giggling as they watched. Yang and Weiss had joined Ruby and were asking how the mission went.

After everyone settled down, he noticed Velvet glance at Kiara.

"Is she going to be ok?" she asked, the other students also looking at the sleeping lioness.

"She'll be ok, just needs sleep for a while," Dante answered.

"Just what happened to her?" Coco asked as she stepped beside Kiara's bed.

"Got into a fight," Thantos answered.

"Do we even want to know how the other person came out?" Yatsu asked.

"Not unless you feel like pissing your pants," Crato replied with a chuckle, making some of the students shudder.

"So how did the mission go?" asked Ruby, looking at Dante for the answer.

He scratched the back of his head as he glanced at his teammates. '_How to answer that?' _he pondered before looking back at the redhead.

"Well, it was a success . . . mostly."

Lucian grunted at that making Dante shoot him a glare. They had yet to discuss why Dante and Athena had brought Lily back and they had remained adamant on not touching the subject while they flew back. Luckily the girl had remained asleep up till the doctor took her.

The air was starting to feel heavy as the two Alphas looked at each other but luckily Crato stepped in and diverted the attention away.

"Yeah, it was good and we learned some cool stuff."

"Like what?" asked Yang and Nora in unison.

"Well, that Dante's semblance is terrifying for one," he answered.

"It isn't that bad," Dante defended as he looked away from Lucian.

"Dude, you made an explosion incinerating everything within 15 meters . . . and I felt the shaking from the other side of the mountain," Havasu added.

"Damn," Coco mumbled as the students looked at him.

"Ok, ok, get on with it," he defended as he looked at the window.

"Anyways," Crato muttered. "And we learned that Lucian and I are absolute badasses."

Dante scoffed at that while Athena looked at Crato with a raised eyebrow.

"He's right," Lucian agreed. "After all, it isn't every day that two hunters take down an S-Classed Grimm."

"What!?" several of the students shouted as they looked at him.

Lucian smirked as he looked back at them, "A Litherian Minotaur."

"Umm . . . what is that?" Ruby asked as she looked around.

"It's a Grimm that makes a goliath look like a pushover you dunce," Weiss answered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Oh."

"So yeah, me and Lucian get the title of the most awesome partners," Crato finished as he pumped his chest out.

"I'm sorry but I think you'll have to fight me and Thantos for that title," Havasu challenge.

"Oh, now this I'd like to see," Lucian retorted.

The two sets of partners started to square off, sparking almost flying between them.

"Girls, girls, you're all pretty," Athena chuckled before she looked them in the eyes. "But if you really want to go up against the strongest pair in Beacon, I'm sure Dante and I can make some time."

By now the students were shriveling back as they watched the Slayers square off, none of the three pairs intent on backing down. They were so caught up in their stare off that they failed to notice that someone had entered the room, only finally noticing when said person cleared her throat to announce herself.

Some of the students jumped as they all turned to see Glynda, her ever stern eyes quickly scanning the room before settling on Dante.

"Mr. Argentum, you are to report to Ozpin's office immediately," she said in a sharp tone.

"What for?" he asked, though he already had an idea of what Ozpin wanted to discuss.

Glynda didn't seem pleased to hear the question but humored him. "He needs to speak to you about your 'findings'."

At that Athena softly gasped as she took a small step forward.

"Only Mr. Argentum," Glynda continued, this time narrowing her eyes at Athena before looking around the room. "The rest of you should be in your dorms. I expect all of you to be in bed in the next half hour."

"No need to be so testy," Dante said as he gave Athena a quick glance before beginning to walk out of the room. "I want everyone, Slayers included, back in their dorms. Havasu, hold down the fort."

As he walked out of the room with Glynda in toe he heard Havasu call, "Aye sir."

* * *

"So Glynda, how has your night been going?" Dante asked as they waited for the elevator to arrive at Ozpin's office.

" . . ."

"Ah, your famous cold shoulder. Can't blame me for trying to break the silence," he continued as he glanced at the blonde, wondering why was it that she always looked like someone had skipped on the honey in her tea.

'_Fine, be that way but it will make you wrinkle faster,' _he mused as the elevator arrived at their destination.

Dante waited for Glynda to lead, walking behind her and stopping just in front of the desk while Glynda walked around it and stopped at Ozpin's side. Ozpin sat, for once not sporting his usual coffee mug, instead flipping through a set of files. After lazily ladling through a few pages he looked up at Dante, his eyes scanning over the Slayer before he gestured for Dante to take a seat.

Once seated Ozpin began. "I trust you know why it is that I called you here?"

"It's about Lily," he replied instantly.

"Yes, the child. Tell me, why did you decide to go against my orders and bring a child back even when the directive was to eliminate all the children."

"Well, unlike the first children encountered, she showed signs of having maintained her sanity. After much deliberation, I concluded that she could be given a chance to live," he answered.

"Truly? But weren't you the one to say that any form of therapy would be pointless and that the children would be beyond rescue?" Ozpin said with piercing eyes.

"I . . . know what I said but it seemed to me she had just been taken there. She didn't show the signs of aggression or savagery the others did," he defended.

"That may be so . . ." Ozpin replied before he glanced down at the files, "but these say she is far from harmless."

"What do you mean?"

"We ran several forms of tests to assess her, identify her, and learn anything else we could in a limited amount of time. Her blood results are unlike any other types we have on record, save for three. Her blood composition and type has striking similarities to yours, Ms. Nyekundu, and Mr. Ze'ev. Yet the odd thing is, when we ran her finger prints and name in correlation to the kidnapped reports, it returned a human child named Lily Valerious."

" . . ."

"Now explain to me how a human child was found as a faunus and not just any faunus but an Alpha breed," Ozpin finished evenly.

"We aren't sure," Dante replied.

"Of course not, instead you simply disregard orders and return with a weapon, without any idea of just how dangerous it is," Glynda interjected with an angry tone.

Dante growled as he glared at her. "**She** isn't an 'it' . . . and her name is Lily," he said sternly yet partly to reassure himself.

"That is beside the point. The fact of the matter is that we have no idea what she is and judging from the small debriefing you received upon arrival, you claim that the facility and all data was destroyed," Ozpin said.

"I made a judgement call and believed that it was best that all traces of that facility be destroyed, research and all," he replied.

It was only half true. Havasu had informed him during the trip back that he had destroyed most of the files he'd found, save for the scroll he took from a secretary, and had used red dust charges to blow several of the passages as the team ascended to the top of the facility. That scroll had been discreetly hidden upon arrival and taken back to one of their dorms while the others rushed their team to the hospital wing.

"Very well," Ozpin sided as he rubbed his temple. "Overall the mission was classed as complete and your teams will be given a break before your next assignment. Dismissed."

"What about Lily?" he asked, ignoring the dismissal.

"What of her?" Ozpin returned with hard eyes but Dante didn't falter.

"What is going to be done about her? Are we going to look for her family?"

"No, as far as anyone in the public eye is concerned, the child Lily Valerious was never found and is presumed dead. As for the faunus that you brought back, she will be handed over to an 'undisclosed' facility and kept there until further notice," Ozpin replied.

"You mean to be opened up, studied, and replicated!" Dante shouted as he got to his feet, his eyes shifting to the draconic form.

Ozpin didn't bat an eye as he looked at the Slayer. "And what would you have me do? The Vale council will not allow an unknown and possibly dangerous weapon such as that child to roam free."

"Dust damn the council! She is just a child Ozpin, we can't just let them throw her into some cell for the rest of her life while they run tests on her!" he continued.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Don't tell them, stick with everyone died, anything just don't let them take her!" he replied.

"Then who would look after her? You?"

"…"

Dante was taken aback by that. He truly didn't know what could be done. His own nature compelled him to end her and could see that Lucian was getting the same reaction. Just being with him wasn't a guarantee that she would be safe.

Ozpin took his silence as a sign to continue. "Tell me Mr. Argentum, what rights could you possibly have to the child that would allow me to hand her over to you?"

Dante looked at Ozpin's eyes, unable to get a read on anything the senior hunter was thinking.

"I am sorry but in a week's time I will inform the council of her existence. As a precautionary measure, none of the Slayers will be permitted access to her unless specifically granted from me _in person_. Now . . . you are dismissed."

Dante clenched his fists as he turned and left the room.

'_I know that she isn't natural and that she could be dangerous . . . but she's just a little girl._ _Just what can I do?'_

* * *

Havasu was bored. It had only been roughly an hour since everyone left. Now he just stared at his scroll screen, unable to fall asleep, so instead he played some game launching tiny Grimm from a catapult into a fortress as he tried to eliminate all the hunters inside it by making the structure crumble on them. He could hear Kiara's soft breathing to his right as she slept peacefully, her lion ears occasionally twitching in a cute way.

He just finished a level when he heard the door open, a very upset looking Dante walking in and plopping down at the foot of his bed without a word.

"That bad huh?" Havasu started as he set his scroll down.

Dante nodded as he looked at the floor.

"So give it to me straight doc, how long do we got?"

"Ozpin said that he'll wait a week before letting the council know and they ship her off to Oum knows where."

"A whole week? And here I was thinking that shipping day was tomorrow."

"Will you take this seriously?" Dante said irritably as he fixed him with a glare.

"Ok, just how did it go exactly?" Havasu said as he dropped the clown act.

"They ran tests and found out that she was born human. That on top of learning that she has been turned into an Alpha hybrid. Ozpin said that as far as the general public knows, the children from the kidnappings were never found."

Havasu grimaced at that, remembering the face of the child he'd killed before setting the hall on fire.

"What about her parents?" he asked.

"They won't be told," Dante replied.

"Not if I can help it," he replied as he grabbed his scroll and opened up his search engine.

"What are you doing?" Dante asked as he looked at the scroll.

"Give me the kid's name. I should be able to find out where she is from in a moment," he answered as he hacked his way into the school's classified database.

"Lily Valerious."

"Pretty name," he muttered as he searched for any references to her name.

It took all of 15 seconds before a file popped up, a picture of Lily but without the bat ears. He skimmed through it, only for his eyes to widen. "Shit."

"What?" Dante asked as he tried to look over Havasu's hands to try and read the file upside down.

"Dante . . . Lily is an orphan."

Dante looked at him in shock but he ignored it as he kept reading. "It says here that she has been for almost 3 months. She had a nanny that reported her disappearance but it also says that Lily's parents had suddenly disappeared 5 months ago without a trace."

"So . . ." Dante murmured.

"She doesn't have any family left," Havasu said in a low tone.

They stayed quiet for a few minutes, absorbing the new information, until Dante broke the silence. "So there really isn't anything that can be done for her . . ."

"We can't just give up without trying more," Havasu tried to argue as he locked eyes with Dante. "She deserves a chance."

Dante stood up from the bed with a heavy sigh as he started to head to the door.

"But just who are we to decide that," he said as he walked out, lightly closing the door behind him.

"Fuck," Havasu growled to himself as he looked at his scroll.

'_There has to be more we can do,'_ he thought as he searched through the reports, his eyes catching a section detailing Lily's late parents. As he read, his eyes widened, his mind reeling as if pieced things together.

'_Parents . . . hunters . . . job . . . Farglow . . .'_

* * *

**Author's Rant: And the plot continues! The heartbreak is soon to follow!**

**Review~Comment~Feedback~ Let me know what you guys think!**


	47. Scars Hurt the Worst

**Author's Note: Another development, more feels, the title is very self-explanatory. As always I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"So then Velvet got really angry and it was scary because we've never seen her when she gets mad and . . ."

Dante didn't really hear much of what Ruby was saying, his thought constantly returning to the issue of Lily and the tension with Lucian.

It was the next day, lunch time, and he was sitting with team RWBY, listening as Ruby told him how Velvet had scolded Blake after she'd returned from the Vale docks. When he'd first heard about it he also gave Blake an earful but his anger didn't last long. He was simply happy that things had ended without any harm befalling her or Ruby though part of him now had a bone to pick with the faunus that had led Blake on.

"Hello . . . Remnant to Dante . . . hey!" Yang called from her see across from him.

"What?" Dante snapped up as he looked at girls.

"Dantee . . ." Ruby whined. "You weren't even listening."

"Sorry," he said as he stood up from the table, leaving his chicken soup untouched. "I'll catch you girls later."

He walked away before any of them could say anything, turning the corner and walking down the halls without any direction. He heard a low rumble in the distance, the air growing heavy with moisture as the sky began darkening. '_It's going to rain soon,' _he thought as he rounded a corner only to bump into Athena.

'_How did I not sense her,' _he wondered as he looked at her.

"Hey there, I was looking for you earlier but you ran off," she said as she gave him a small smile before it disappeared. "What's up?"

"Not much, just taking a stroll," he replied as he looked around, seeing that the open hall was mostly empty.

"Oh . . . so um, can we finally talk about what happened last night?" she asked as she fidgeted with the end of her hair.

"Umm . . ." He wondered how to tell her, avoiding her eyes.

He had purposefully waited until she had fallen asleep before returning to his dorm and had left before she had woken up, all to avoid breaking to her the news about Lily. The longer he went without answering, the more he could feel Athena's agitation grow.

"Dante . . ." she said, trying to get him to look at her.

He sighed in defeat before finally looking at her, his heart sinking as he looked into her eyes.

"We can't do anything for Lily . . ."

" . . ."

"What?" she asked after a pause.

"We can't . . . do anything. She is going to be handed over to the council and the official statement will be that she was never found," he continued.

The first raindrop fell . . .

"But . . . but . . ." she stammered as she looked around for a moment. "What about her family? They deserve to know at least."

"She doesn't have any family," he answered softly.

Athena took a step back, her eyes darting back and forth as she spoke.

"But that isn't right. She's just a child, they can't do that!" she shouted.

More drops followed, a soft hum forming as they hit the ground just outside the covers of the walkway.

"Well, what else is there? We knew from the start that this is how it would end," he replied a little more forcefully.

"Not when she hasn't even gotten a chance to be defended."

"That would just be delaying it."

"No! I won't just let them take her and lock her away like some animal or weapon!" Athena shouted back. "We can offer to look after her or keep her hidden even, anything but giving her away to be dissected!"

Dante could feel his frustration turning into anger. He was already upset as it was after speaking to Ozpin and then hearing from Havasu that she was an orphan didn't make it any better. Now everyone was telling him to do something, denying the inevitable. Ozpin asking him if he had any right to the child, Havasu saying that something more needs to be done, and now Athena yelling at him because she couldn't accept Lily's fate.

It was raining full force, the hum of rain drowning out any background noise.

"Maybe if I talked to Ozpin he might reconsider or I cou—"

"You aren't her mother!" he snapped at her.

" . . ."

Athena stepped back and looked at him as if she'd been slapped.

"You don't owe her anything."

She then turned her face down, her hair obscuring her eyes as one of her hands trailed over her wrist before setting on her gut, just below the bellybutton.

"You're right," she whispered, her voice quivering. "I not her mother . . ."

A tear trailed down her chin, falling to the ground in rhythm to the rain.

She then turned on her heel and started to run, the sound of her sniffles nearly being overtaken by that of the rain.

Dante watched her back disappear as she took a corner, his anger now gone and replaced by a crushing guilt. '_Why did she look like that?'_ he wondered as he looked at his feet. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if the crystal knew that whatever he'd said had just caused Athena to cry.

"Dammit," he growled as his fists clenched. "_There you go . . . hurting someone else you love. Just when will you learn that all you do is cause pain.'_

He was so entrenched in his thoughts that he hardly registered the presence approaching. He felt a tap on his shoulder and glanced back to see it was Lucian. The wolf didn't look pleased, his eyes bordering emotionless as he took a step back and waited for Dante to face him.

He slowly turned, not looking forward to the conversation that was about to ensue.

"We need to talk," the wolf began, his tone almost icy.

"What about?" he returned.

"You know exactly what!" Lucian whispered sharply. "About that . . . thing you brought back."

"What? She wasn't senseless like the others and I thought she might have a chance," he retorted.

"Bullshit! I know you felt it, how wrong her existence is. I'm still having a hard time believing that you didn't just straight up tear her apart the moment you saw her," Lucian said in a harsh tone.

"Believe me, I wanted to, but . . . I just couldn't," he replied.

"Why? Because Athena got teary eyed about it?"

"Careful," Dante growled. He didn't care if Lucian got testy with him but if he so much as said one cross word about Athena, Dante was sending him straight to the infirmary.

"No, you be careful! You know what will happen if another Alpha sees the girl or worse yet, they figure out how to replicate her and make more monsters!" Lucian continued, his eyes shifting to the wolf form. "Just think what your parents would say if they saw you even trying to defend that child."

"Don't you think I know that?! That my father might reject me for defending her, without even taking into account I'm in love with a human!" he shouted back.

He had for some time considered reaching out to his parents, finally speaking to them after nearly 3 years of silence, to tell them of his new life, his team . . . and his love. But part of him feared their rejection, scorn even. They had both fought in the wars, slaughtered hundreds of humans single-handedly, witnessed some of the worst horrors humans and fauna alike were capable of. To return with a human as his partner and now to go against his instinct and defend an artificial Alpha . . . just what sort of welcome could he even hope for?

Lucian's eyes softened for a moment, understanding flashing across them as he stepped back.

"You're an alpha now Dante, not just in breed but in role. You need to make a decision and hold to it, not just go back and forth and then roll over when things don't go your way," he said in a softer tone.

He then turned and started to walk away, saying one last thing that was almost swallowed by the rain. "I will never accept you as an alpha otherwise," before he disappeared behind a corner.

Dante stood there, at a loss for words as he contemplated what Lucian meant by that. He knew that he needed to come to a decision about Lily, whether to fight for her or abandon her to her fate. He rested his hand against the crystal in his chest, feeling it pulse with aura in rhythm to his heart. '_Athena . . .'_ he thought as he turned and bolted after her.

* * *

She started to shiver as the cold rain pelted her but she didn't care. She kept her face buried into her knees as she sat against the tree overlooking the cliffs. A usually beautiful view was now just a stormy sky with heavy rain drenching everything. Even with the cold rain, her tears burned as they ran down her cheeks, the sound of her sobbing being hidden by the rain.

How long had she been here? Why had she run here of all places? Surely she could have simply gone to her room and locked the door but for whatever reason her legs had carried her here. Into the unforgiving rain, before she stopped at the tree and broke down, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her face.

She also felt an immense pain in her chest, one that had started the moment Dante said what he did. It felt like a stab, making it past any of her mental barriers that had been built up over years of training, leaving her vulnerable and in pain. Then, as she ran, it started.

The scars came back.

The stinging around her wrists, the taste of her blood in her mouth, the burning in her gut. It all came back with a vengeance, making her want to curl up into a ball, to shut the world out and be left alone. '_Why? It's been years . . . so why does it hurt so much?_' she thought as another wave of tears began.

She kept sobbing, ignoring the freezing rain, until she felt a familiar presence approach. She could hear his steps as his feet landed in deep puddles, then followed by the sound of him sitting beside her. She didn't look to her side and he remained silent, as the rain assaulted them both. After a few minutes she finally glanced to her right.

Dante was there, sitting with his legs crossed as he looked out over the cliff with raining dripping off his hair, his draconic eyes revealed. After a few seconds he looked at her with sad eyes.

After some time she spoke. "Why are you here?" She tried to make it sound angry but it came out quivering instead.

"Because I didn't want to leave you alone," he replied softly.

"And if I wanted to be alone?" she said.

"Then tell me to leave and I will, otherwise I'll wait," he replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

" . . . Don't . . ." she whispered as she looked away.

He looked her over before slowly draping his arm around her and gently embracing her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. They remained like that for a few minutes, finding solace in each other's presence.

"I'm sorry . . . for running like that," she started.

Dante shook his head before answering, "No, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have said that, it was out of line."

"But you're right, I'm not her mother . . ." she replied as her lips started to quiver even more. "Dante . . . I need to tell you something."

She looked at his face, his eyes full of the tender warmth that had captured her heart.

"Remember the night Nyx mentioned torture and I had a small panic attack?"

He nodded, his arm tightening the embrace as he looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I told you it brought up some old memories but I never said what they were about . . ."

She took a deep breath.

"When I was training back in Mistral, the academy I was in focused heavily on military careers rather than for becoming hunters. As time went by and I reached 18, my instructors had decided that I was a prime candidate for the Viper Initiative. It was a program that gapped the academy training and the Slayer program we are in now. I took it, thinking it would make my parents proud since both are in the military."

" . . ."

"So, near the end of my first year in the program we were going to be tested to see how strong our resolve was when interrogated. My particular instructor was known for being . . . extreme in his methods but was always tolerated because soldiers who were approved by him usually performed above and beyond when put in the Slayer program."

She felt her hands begin to tremble, her breathing become labored as she recalled the events. She felt Dante begin to hum, a familiar warmth flowing over her as she settled down.

"So, during my test, he wanted to push me as far as possible. He had me chained to a wall and started to question me. Whenever I didn't answer he would strike me. It wasn't a big deal at first, I just brushed it off, and I even smirked back sometimes. Then something went wrong . . . he started to hit harder and for longer every time I would resist. He punched me in the face until I couldn't even keep my mouth closed, tightened the restraints to cut off circulation, all the while screaming at me to answer him. As it turned out, I had lasted the longest of anyone he had tested . . . but he didn't like that."

She let one of her hands drop off her knees and onto Dante's lap which he instantly took in his right hand, giving her a firm squeeze.

"So . . . he kept beating me until my aura failed . . . and then continued. He just kept going but I didn't crack and he lost it. He pulled out a knife and stabbed me here," she trailed her left hand below her waistline. "And twisted the knife . . . I've never screamed so hard in my life."

She started to cry again, clinging onto Dante's hand.

"I passed out . . . and woke up later . . . in a hospital bed. They told me that the knife had passed into my uterus, piercing the inner layer. When the instructor twisted the knife, he'd ripped apart the linings inside and since my aura had already given out, it couldn't be healed in time."

She climbed onto Dante's lap and buried her face into his chest as she cried harder while he enveloped her in a tight hug. His cheek rested against the top of her head as he gently rocked her, his own voice quivering as he tried to say soothing words.

"Ever since that day . . . I lost the ability to have kids," she said through tears.

"I'm never going to be a mom . . ."

They stayed silent for what felt like hours, holding each other as the rain continued on. She could feel his chest shudder as well. '_He's crying too.' _She slowly brought her face up and tilted his face to look back at her.

"I'm so sorry . . . I didn't know," he whispered.

"It's ok," she replied gently as she stroked his cheek. "I should have told you sooner."

She then took a shaking breath before speaking again. "It's one of the reasons I never really tried to get close to anyone . . . after all . . . who would want to be with someone they couldn't make a family with."

"No . . ." Dante said suddenly he looked at her with eyes, the silver and blue of his eyes seeming to glow. "I made that choice the minute I realized I love you."

" . . . W-What?" she asked barely above a whisper.

"I told you once . . . Alphas and humans can't breed . . . at least not without there being serious consequences. I already knew that we wouldn't be able to start a family . . . but I made my choice regardless," he answered, his tone never faltering.

"So you still want to be with me . . . even though I'm broken?" she asked.

He answered by pulling her into a kiss, gentle and warm as it carried his love for her. She kissed back, her heart racing as she draped her arms around his neck. As they slowly broke apart Athena felt the pain begin to lessen, a warmth filling her chest as she looked into Dante's eyes.

"You aren't broken to me," he said as he pulled her into a hug, his chin resting over her head. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied as she snuggled into his chest, a small but genuine smile tracing her lips as she closed her eyes.

She felt so secure and safe in his arms, his warmth soothing her as her exhaustion took hold. All the previous night's worries and doubts washed away like the rain running over their bodies. She didn't feel the cold anymore, just the heartbeat of her dragon as he hummed for her.

The last thing she felt was one last tear leak out but unlike the ones before, this tear was one of happiness . . .

* * *

He carried her bridal style into their dorm, moving soundlessly as to not wake her. He then looked at their beds before deciding to gently put her down in his bed. Their clothes was still a little damp but that to a steady stream of heat from his aura, most of the clothes had dried to comfortable levels. He then slowly took off her shoes and socks before pulling his covers up to her shoulders.

He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before he turned and left her to sleep in peace. As he closed the door he turned to see clear blue eyes surrounded by grey waters looking at him from the far wall.

He walked up to him, the wolf looking back with calculating eyes.

"Did you finally make a choice?" Lucian asked, his tone giving nothing away.

"I did," Dante replied, his eyes shifting to their draconic form. "I'm going to protect Lily."

"Are you only doing it for Athena?" Lucian asked.

"No," he replied instantly. "It's true that Athena was the reason I hesitated at first . . . but I still couldn't bring myself to kill Lily even when she'd stepped aside."

"Why?"

"Because . . . when I looked at her, even with every fiber of my body telling me to end her, all I saw was an innocent child. A scared little girl who wanted nothing more than to have someone there for her, to protect her . . ."

Dante sighed as he looked at his hands. "Then when Athena asked me to hold Lily . . . I don't know, something just clicked. For a brief moment, all I wanted to do was keep her safe."

He looked up at the wolf who was nodding gravely. "So you're ready to take all the responsibilities . . . regardless of the consequences or pain that will come with them?"

" . . . Yes," he answered solemnly.

"Then sit down . . . I need to tell you something and you aren't going to like it," Lucian instructed as he pointed to the couch.

Once Dante sat down Lucian pulled up a chair across from him and sat down.

"Now where to begin . . . ok . . . I went and spoke with Havasu a few hours after you finally returned to the dorm. As it turns out he was reading through files about Lily from Beacon's database."

"I know, that's where I found out that Lily is an orphan," he commented.

"Yes but you didn't stick around to get all the details," Lucian said before taking a breath. "Dante . . . Lily's father was a hunter."

"Ok . . . and?"

"His last reported job was guard duty at Farglow . . ."

"W-What?" Dante stammered as he looked at the wolf.

"The file explained that Lily had been left with her usual nanny while her mother accompanied her father for an extended work trip into Farglow. In fact, the last call they had received from Lily's parents was the night before all of Farglow went silent."

Dante felt his hands go numb as he looked at Lucian, his eyes trembling as they scanned Lucian's aura. It didn't shudder or shift in any way. He was telling the truth.

"So . . . you mean . . . I . . ."

"You orphaned Lily," Lucian finished, his voice becoming uncharacteristically soft.

Dante looked down at his hands, his vision becoming blurry as tears swam across his vision.

"When will it end," he mumbled as he balled his fists before he looked at the wolf.

Everything started to fall together. He remembered how Lily had looked when he had been about to cut her down. The eyes, the face, even her heart beat . . . it was all like that women. He remembered her face as well, her fear as he caught her, her scream as he crushed her wrist, the taste of her blood as he bit into her throat.

"Oh my Oum . . . that was her mother," he whispered in disgust, his claws revealing themselves in his agitation.

"You said that you would bear all responsibilities . . . is that still true?" Lucian asked firmly, his eyes watching Dante's every move.

"Yes," Dante replied as he brushed away his tears.

He couldn't back down, he wouldn't. He was already prepared to fight his own kind to defend his love and now he owed it to Lily to save her from a caged life. He looked at the wolf and noticed a faint smile on his lips as he looked at him.

"That's the Alpha I wanted to see," he said before standing up and offering Dante a hand.

He took it and got pulled to his feet before Lucian patted him firmly on the shoulder.

"An Alpha I'm willing to follow," Lucian added with a smirk.

Dante couldn't help but smirk back. Then he heard Lucian's scroll ring. Lucian pulled it out and quickly read through the new message before smirking even more and putting his scroll away.

"Havasu is waiting for us in the library."

"What? Why?" he asked. "Isn't Havasu supposed to be in the hospital wing?"

"Yeah, he just sort of barged out," Lucian answered sheepishly before adding, "But we wanted to get into the research as soon as possible."

"For what?"

"Dude, you really are dense sometimes," Lucian replied with a shake of the head. "You didn't notice?"

"Notice what?" Dante asked irritably.

"Think about it, when Ozpin spoke to you, didn't you find it the least bit odd how things played out?"

"How exactly?"

"Well for starts, the fact that he asked you to give him a reason to turn Lily over to you. Instead of saying you have no right to Lily, he asked you to supply one. Now why would he do that if there are none, unless per chance there is something we don't know about," Lucian explained.

"Ok, so that was a little odd, so what?"

"On its own it isn't a big deal but then take into account that he gave you a week before he even **alerts** the council of Lily's existence. So far only us, Glynda, Ozpin himself, and that one doctor know about Lily or that fact that she was once human. Now why would he bother waiting? He could have just as easily terminated Lily the moment he learned what she was or turned her over to the council.'

" . . ."

"Dante, Ozpin was literally begging you to give him a reason to turn Lily over to you. He doesn't want to give her to the council and risk her being studied in the hopes of replicating the effect. He gave you a week to find a way to secure Lily's fate."

"So you and Havasu have been . . ."

"Digging through old files, law books, and asking some professors if they know about cases where Hunters rescue orphaned children," Lucian finished.

Dante stared at Lucian in awe, completely blindsided by his willingness to help Dante save Lily.

"But I thought that you rejected her?" he asked.

"Being around her makes me nervous but it's like you said . . . she's just a little girl. It isn't her fault what happened and I could see how you and Athena looked at her," Lucian responded.

"So what happened back near the cafeteria . . ."

"Someone needed to kick you into gear," Lucian grinned. "Now let's go! Havasu said he found something."

"Right," Dante agreed as the two left the dorm. '_I need to keep her safe . . .'_

* * *

**Author's Rant: And more is revealed! What's going to happen to Lily! Will Dante ever find redemption? I might give you questions for answers, you'll never know!**

**Comment~Review!**


	48. Guardian Demon

**Author's Note: The story continues, a development! . . . I wonder which of you saw this coming?**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

"Alright gents," Havasu grunted as he tossed an enormous tome on a table, a fine layer of dust billowing around it. "This one's the pot at the end of the rainbow, pray she has gold."

Lucian took a whiff of the book before sneezing. "Are you sure?" he asked as he looked at the spine of the book. "This thing is dated to nearly a decade ago."

"Really? Then why is it so dusty?" Dante asked as he ran his hand over the worn leather cover.

"Easy," Havasu said as he opened the cover while scanning around to make sure they were the only occupants in the library. "We all know that a good deal of laws and legislation concerning classified hunter operations is handled under the table when it deals with shady subjects."

"Yeah and?" Lucian muttered as he skimmed over the pages as Havasu flipped them.

"Because these laws aren't meant for general public, they aren't recorded digitally, instead a large tome is usually composed every few decades with an updated version of these laws along with records of their writers and even mission details that created the need for them," Havasu explained.

"And this is one of them?" Dante asked as he read a small heading.

It read, 'The Ranks of an S-Classed Hunter: Military Equivalence.'

"How did you get your hands on this?" Lucian asked.

"Hacked into the restricted section of the library and borrowed it," Havasu replied easily as he kept flipping pages.

"So you think there is something here that will let me keep Lily?" Dante asked.

"Maybe . . . I found a few files about Hunters finding children during missions and some even adopting them because sometimes they bond during their encounters. The weird thing is, in all of them, the hunters weren't Slayers or more formally known, S-Classed Hunters. They were all everyday hunters working on fairly ordinary jobs, as ordinary as you can get when it comes to hunting down creatures that feed off negativity, anyways."

"I don't see how that is so weird. I mean, Slayers usually operate in high clearance zones so it's highly unlikely for them to run into any civilians, especially children," Dante commented.

"True but Slayers are also kingdom sanctioned assassins and even have military ranks. Just look at what happened yesterday. We went into a hostile zone, took out a small army's worth of soldiers, and ran into several children, one of which is already getting attached to you," Havasu retorted.

"Athena maybe, but Lily is terrified of me," Dante replied somewhat sadly.

"Makes sense, she saw you under some very harsh circumstances but I saw how she was in your arms. A kid doesn't rest that peacefully in the arms of someone they don't want to be near. Just give her some time to adjust to you, you'll see," Havasu added as he stopped flipping pages.

He skimmed through the page before shouting 'aha' and pointing at a passage in the page.

Dante and Lucian huddled over his shoulder to read the passage, both beginning to grin.

"Oh this is going to be good," Lucian quipped.

* * *

"Are you sure it is a good idea to wait Ozpin?"

"Relax Glynda," he replied a she took a sip of his morning coffee.

"But what if Argentum tries something?"

"Like what? Break the child out and run away with her? I honestly believe that he is above such action."

"Still . . . I don't see how you can trust him so easily," Glynda muttered.

"Glynda," he said evenly as he fixed her with a side glance. "I understand that you've come across an Alpha or two before but they are not all like those you met."

Glynda looked away, not wanting him to see the rage he knew that filled her eyes. He was about to say something more but was interrupted by the sound of the elevator arriving to his floor. He had a very amused twinkle in his eyes as he watched Havasu, Lucian, and Dante file out, Dante carrying a set of files under his arm. '_Looks like they found it.'_

"Hello gentleman, how can I help you this fine morning?" he asked politely as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Hello professor," the three greeted in unison.

Ozpin glanced at Glynda to his side before speaking. "Glynda, would you mind stepping out please?"

Glynda shot him a look of shock but regained her composure soon enough and left the four to speak. Once the elevator had cleared away, Ozpin addressed the Slayers directly.

"I must admit, I'm surprised Ms. Sapphirus isn't with you."

"Yeah, she woke up with a cold and had to stay in bed. No worries though, she has one very energetic nurse and three less than ecstatic helpers so she's well taken care of," Dante said somewhat sheepishly before his face took a serious turn. "Professor, we need to talk about Lily."

"Oh?"

"You asked me if I had any rights to her . . ."

"And do you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Dante replied as he stepped closer and looked at Ozpin with steady eyes.

"We looked into the old archives and found a record of old Slayer cases concerning children rescued from mission zones," Dante began.

"So that was the alert we got for an unauthorized entry of the restricted section of the library," Ozpin interjected with a sharp glance at Havasu making him chuckle nervously.

"Umm . . . yeah, anyways, we looked through the cases and noticed a distinct form of proceedings. The children found in these 'danger zones' often witnessed not only whatever horrors transpired around them but also tended to see details about the mission that any superior would be hesitant to have leaked to the public. In a way they were put in greater risks because they were liabilities."

"Go on," Ozpin instructed.

"Because the children couldn't be held to an oath like the Slayers that saved them, it often came down to making the children . . . disappear. This went on for several years until one case arose where a Slayer wanted to protect a child they'd saved. She argued that she could be placed as a legal guardian and watch the child, make sure that any details of the mission stayed hidden while the child stayed safe with her."

" . . ."

"She lost the case but over the years, other Slayers repeated the action, claiming that even under oath, they were still Hunters and their ultimate duty was to save innocent lives whenever they could. Because of this growing trend, the 4 councils convened and wrote the passages known as 'The Oath of Savior and Guardian'," Dante finished.

"That is correct," Ozpin said as he set his coffee down. "That passage, dating back exactly 25 years, allows the Slayer responsible for the rescue of a minor to request guardianship over the minor in question for up to 5 years with specified terms. This period allows for observation of the Slayer and minor while assessing if the minor or Slayer remain as liabilities. If there is a suspected violation, the Slayer's guardianship is waived and the supervisor assumes custody of the child."

"I am aware," Dante responded.

"So, are you requesting to become Lily's legal guardian?" Ozpin asked as he locked eyes with the dragon.

Dante nodded gravely before saying, "I am already responsible for her in more ways than one . . . I need to do this."

Ozpin waited silently, watching to see if there was any sign of doubt or hesitation in Dante's eyes but he found none. He smiled faintly as he leaned back in his chair, pleased with the turn of events.

"Very well Mr. Argentum, if you are prepared for such a responsibility then I will personally draw up the necessary forms . . ."

"Already done," Dante interrupted as he dropped his files onto Ozpin's desk. "I even wrote a list of terms that you can either agree to or amend if you see fit to."

"Well done," Ozpin chuckled as he opened the files and looked at the forms fully completed.

"I had help," Dante replied while Lucian and Havasu smirked.

Ozpin started to read through the forms, noting the conditions suggested. After a while he heard Dante clear his throat. He looked up at the dragon, waiting to see if he had something to say.

"If I may ask sir, why did you give me this chance?" Dante asked.

Ozpin looked at him for a moment before reply. "I'm not sure what you mean Mr. Argentum . . . all I remember doing was informing you of the schedule I had planned to follow in regards to the child . . ."

" . . ." Dante gave him a confused look, his eyes narrowing as he started to say something but Ozpin cut him off.

"Though . . . if i had any reason to give such a chance, perhaps it would be help someone mature. I remember seeing a young man to come to me, requesting admission to my academy. He was cold, tired, with hard eyes, and uninterested in living a full life, merely continuing on his current path of isolation. But then he started to grow, to open up and rely on others . . . and to protect them. Perhaps this would have been reason for me to believe that the young man would continue to grow . . . and that the care of this child could help in doing so," he finished.

"..."

Dante remained silent, taking in his words, as he looked past him towards the large window and the city in the background. After a few minutes he returned his attention to Ozpin.

"Thank you," the dragon said softly, looking as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"My pleasure," he replied as he looked back at the forms. "Now, since it seems you three thoroughly completed all necessary forms, what remains is to form a new identity for her and wipe any existing files of her identity."

"Already done," Havasu chirped. "Facial scans, fingerprints, and name searches. None of them will lead to a human girl named Lily Valerious."

"And her new identity?" Ozpin asked.

"I wanted to keep her original name but wasn't sure what to change her last name to," Dante answered.

"Why not yours?" Ozpin asked making all three Slayers jump.

". . . What?" Dante asked, as if he hadn't heard the first time.

"Why not use your last name?" Ozpin repeated.

" . . . Well . . . it would be weird wouldn't it? I mean, people would assume she is my sister."

"Or daughter," Havasu muttered before Dante shot him a glare.

"That may be best," Ozpin agreed making Dante give him a shocked look. "In the many cases, the minor would become extremely close to their guardian and so would result in adoption. This in turn would forgo the wait period of 5 years and allow the minor to stay with the guardian permanently."

"But . . . I can't . . ." Dante stammered as he looked at Ozpin with pleading eyes.

'_Perhaps that is too much to ask of him at this moment . . . I'll ask him again when he is ready,'_ Ozpin thought as he sighed.

"Let's not worry about such large decisions right now. Just asking you to become her temporary guardian is enough to keep her safe and out of council hands. I will find a suitable last name for her in the meantime. I shall contact you when the process is complete and you may pick up Lily. I assume there will need to be adjustments to your living arrangements, correct?" Ozpin asked.

Dante nodded.

"Very well, then if you will excuse me, I need to report to the council of the elimination of the facility in the Razorback region," Ozpin said as he picked up his scroll.

Before he could open the screen he heard the sound of the elevator arriving at his floor. Four pairs of eyes turned to see the doctor holding charge of Lily rush in, her cheeks flushed from running there.

"Professor Ozpin, there is a problem with the child!"

"What!?" all four asked at the same time.

"The child! She started to scream and cry and we weren't sure what to do and she broke her restraints and . . ." the doctor rambled as she neared Ozpin's desk.

"Dr. Sahara, calm down," Ozpin instructed as he stood up and approached the doctor. "Now, tell us what happened.

Dr. Sahara took a deep breath before beginning to explain.

"The girl finally woke up. She was somewhat frightened at first, tugging at the restraints Professor Goodwitch suggested but I managed to calm her down enough to ask if she needed anything. She wouldn't say much, just mumble about where the nice lady was so I tried to get her to eat before coming to report it to you."

The doctor's eyes widened as she started to tremble.

"Sh-She swallowed one bite before she just screamed and threw up the food. Then her eyes changed, the whites becoming pitch black and her top incisors grew into fangs. She tore out of her restraints and jumped off the bed . . . I ran out the moment the cuffs broke and left her sealed in the room before running here," Dr. Sahara finished as she slowly took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Ozpin's desk.

"Shit," Dante hissed as he shared a glance with Lucian.

"Do you two know what is going on?" he asked, turning to them.

"Remember what I said about faunus growth?" Dante asked to which Ozpin nodded.

"She must have hit the first phase. Her digestive system is reforming to suite that of an Alpha. Overly processed human food will just make her vomit until her stomach adjusts completely," he explained.

"And how long will it last?"

"A week give or take."

"Does the aggression tie into it?" Ozpin asked.

"It's because she is hungry. She hasn't eaten in at least 24 hours and eating whatever it is you gave her made her body reject it violently. Now she is on edge and until her hunger is sated, she'll attack anything with a heartbeat," Dante answered.

"After that, the aggression will subside as well," Lucian added.

"And you both know how to do it?"

The Alphas nodded with hard eyes.

"Then here," Ozpin said as he fished out a small ID card and handed it to Dante. "Get whatever it is you need and head to her. The elevator has a small scanner near the terminal. Scan this card and selected the 2nd floor below ground. She will be in holding room E."

"Got it," Dante replied as the Slayers bolted into the elevator, the doors quickly closing behind them.

Ozpin then turned to Dr. Sahara and placed a comforting hand on her trembling shoulder.

"Care for some tea?"

* * *

"How about some soup? No . . . cookies?"

"Ruby," Athena said softly from Dante's bed. "It's sweet that you wanted to take care of me but you don't have to come in here every 5 minutes."

The redhead in question stopped her milling around as she looked back at her, her little nurse's hat tilting cutely to one side of her head.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked as she stepped closer. "You haven't eaten much."

"I just don't have much of an appetite," she replied softly before a small sneeze escaped her.

"Ok then, if you need anything just call," Ruby said as she walked out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

With the energetic redhead gone Athena snuggled deeper into her blankets, well . . . Dante's blankets. She had woken up unusually early that morning, only to just then realize that Dante had brought her back to their room and had left her in his bed. That on its own wasn't too new to her but she couldn't help wonder where he was. The moment she tried to get off the bed her head started to pound from a headache and then she sneezed.

It turned out that Dante was just outside in the living room reading something but as soon as he heard her sneeze he came in to check on her. It took him all of 10 seconds to confirm that she had a cold and tell her to get back to bed. She'd told him that she could manage but he wouldn't hear any of it so she instead stripped out of her worn shirt and jeans. It had been very satisfying to see his cheeks darken as he looked at her, taking in her nearly naked form, before she nicked one of his hoodies rather than get changed into her regular pajamas.

She then crawled back into his bed while he went out and brought her some cold water. He then excused himself saying that he was busy with something and had to go, giving her a quick peck of a kiss before running off. She had been tempted to grab her scroll and message him to come back but the warmth of the hoodie lulled her back to sleep. She'd woken up a few hours later to the sound of knocking on her door.

It was team RWBY, having bumped into Dante during breakfast and being informed that she was sick, had come to take care of her for the day. They were each taking turns, rotating between their classes. Right now it was Ruby and Weiss, the latter of whom was probably just outside dutifully doing any homework while Ruby kept coming in to check on her.

'_It's so sweet but I think she might be going overboard,'_ Athena thought as she sneezed again, reaching for a small tissue box to wipe her nose.

"I hate being sick . . ." she grumbled as she tossed the used tissue away.

She tried to fall asleep again but a mix of boredom and the constant nose blowing made it difficult. After a while she heard the door slowly opened, a head of silver hair peaking in.

"Hey," Dante said softly as he came in and closed the door behind him. He then walked over and kneeled beside the bed, his face just a few inches away from hers. "How are you?"

"Been better," she chuckled as she poked him in the nose with her index finger.

"You'll live," he replied as he took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Listen . . . there's something I need to tell you . . . Well two."

"What?" she asked, noting how his tone became more serious.

"It's about Lily . . ."

"What happened?" she asked in alarm as she tried to sit up but Dante placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Ok, vegetables first," he muttered as he cleared his throat. "Remember when I told you about my hunger?"

"Yeah, that you're always hungry and usually only Grimm meat can satisfy you for an extended period of time," she answered.

"Yes . . . and do you remember the last bit I added to that a week ago?" he asked as he glanced at the door to make sure it was shut.

"Ooh . . ." She remembered very well, after all, it wasn't one could just forget. "You mean the bit about how sometimes you need to eat . . . human flesh?"

He nodded slowly.

"Yeah . . . what about it? Do you need to eat again?" she asked.

Truly after everything she'd seen and heard about Alphas from Dante, Lucian, and Kiara, it hadn't been the biggest shock. He'd explained that most Alphas could adjust to consuming Grimm instead, pushing their need to consume human flesh down to maybe 2 or 3 times a year.

"No I don't . . . but Lily does," he replied. "Lily is an Alpha now and just beginning to enter the key growth phase of our breed. Her body needs nutrition and she won't be able to digest Grimm flesh just yet."

"So you're going to bring her someone . . . to eat?" Athena asked in a whisper, her blood starting to chill at the thought.

Even if she knew that it was a necessity, part of her didn't want to imagine Lily, or any of the others for that matter, feeding off a body directly. Dante caught her reaction to the news, reaching for her hand and giving it a light squeeze to soothe her. She could see it in his eyes, knew that he already detested himself for having to do it but it wasn't their choice.

"She shouldn't need too much, just something to hold her over while her stomach adjusts," he continued. "Lucian and I are going to head to Vale in a few and I wanted to let you know."

"But why is Ozpin even letting you help her?" she asked.

Dante looked into her eyes for a moment before he faintly smiled. "Because . . . Lily is going to be given to us."

" . . ."

She stared at Dante, trying to register his words, hoping that she hadn't just misheard.

"L-Lily isn't going to be given to the council?"

"As far as they're concerned, the human known as Lily Valerious never existed. I already completed the forms to be given custody as her guardian. The council can't touch her," he said with a growing smile.

"Is that what you were working on earlier?"

Dante nodded as he gently cupped her cheek. "She is going to be safe with us now."

Athena felt some tears begin to run down her cheek as she looked at him. She then pulled him into a hug, hiding her face in his shoulder as he returned the hug.

"Thank you . . . for saving her," she whispered.

"You were right . . . just because I am a monster doesn't mean I can't save a life," he whispered back as he broke the hug and then gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I need to go now. I'll let you know when I return."

He then walked over to his wardrobe and grabbed his dark jacket, zipping it up to cover up chin. He left without another word, the room now falling silent as she laid down, her head bustling with what he'd told her.

'_She's going to be safe . . .'_

* * *

"See anything?" Dante asked from his perch overlooking the shadier section of downtown Vale.

"Nothing yet," Lucian replied from the other corner of the roof.

They were both on the roof of an old apartment building, watching as some civilians went on their way in the streets below. Even though it was around noon, the air was cool, the overcast sky swallowing up any sunlight before it could reach the city. Dante could smell another rainstorm about to break, see the clouds grow dark, hear the growing rumble.

'_Perfect conditions for hunting,'_ he thought as he scanned over alleyways. They were both dressed in dark jackets and jeans, Lucian hiding his ears under a hoodie. Lucian also had a small waterproof backpack slung over his shoulders.

"Hey Dante?" Lucian called from his spot.

"Hmm?"

" . . . When was the last time you fed?" he asked in a low voice.

Dante glanced back at him before answering, " . . . Farglow . . . you?"

"A week before initiation," the wolf replied in a heavy tone.

"Did you know them?" Dante asked.

"No . . ."

"It's easier not to," he sighed as he looked south, scanning over a club entrance and the crowd of people moving about. '_The perks of having eyes like a hawk,' _he mused as he focused on a large looking man. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about him, dressed in a worn jacket and cargo pants, but who he was looking at. He was looking at a young woman, dressed in tight jeans and a cream blouse, almond eyes and brunette curls.

"No way," he mumbled as he watched the girl walk down the street, the man following at a fair distance, his eyes locked on the girl.

Dante recognized the look in the man's eyes, knowing it all too well even if the circumstances couldn't be further apart. It was the look of a predator having chosen its prey, intently waiting for the moment to strike. As they walked, the first raindrops fell, marking the beginning of today's downpour.

"I got one," Dante called as he watched the two civilians take an adjacent street, this one significantly less crowded than the previous one.

"Who?" the wolf asked as he stepped beside him, squinting to see as far as Dante.

"Brown jacket and cargo pants, following the girl in the cream blouse, just down Drider Lane," Dante answered.

Lucian looked up and down the road for a moment before he finally pinpointed the two Dante had described.

"No way . . . isn't that?" he asked as he glanced at Dante.

"Yeah . . . the guy's following Amber," Dante replied as he bounded off the roof and onto the next building, Lucian following close behind.

As they jumped from roof to roof the rain thickened, drowning out the sounds of their running as the civilians below scampered for cover. He stopped at the roof of a dust store overlooking Drider Lane, watching as Amber jogged through the rain, oblivious to her follower. '_Her apartment is just east of here which means she will take . . .' _He watched as she ducked into an alleyway, probably hoping to use it as a shortcut to her apartment. '_Fool,'_ he thought as he watched the man follow her in not a minute later.

"What's the call?" Lucian asked beside him, his eyes locked on the alleyway.

"Close in, wait to see if she can get out of the alley before he reaches her, then we take him," Dante answered as he leaped across the street, landing on the roof of the opposite building.

He trailed along the edge of the roof, watching the two humans below as they maneuvered through the turns of the alley. After they were completely out of the street's view, the man increased his pace, closing the distance to Amber while the rain muffled his approach. Dante simply watched, already knowing that she wouldn't get away in time.

"We aren't just going to sit and watch are we?" Lucian asked from behind him. "I know she didn't end on good terms with you but that doesn't necessarily mean she deserves what's about to happen."

Amber had reached a cross section of the alleyway, looking confused as to which way to take to get to the next street. The man was just an arm's length away, his lips forming a grin as he raised a hand while the other drew out a small knife.

"True enough."

Dante hopped off the ledge, landing almost silently beside the man. Before the man could react Dante had him by the throat, pulling him behind a set of crates before Amber could even notice that there had been two people just a foot behind her. As the man struggled in his grip Dante closed his eyes and allowed his aura to radiate around him, visualizing the world around him.

He could sense the flimsy, locked aura of the man in his grip and an even smaller aura that was slowly getting farther away. As he waited for Amber to leave, he felt the man raise his arm and try to drive his knife into Dante's neck but it was pointless as the thin blade snapped the moment it made contact with his aura. After another minute or so Dante felt Lucian land behind him.

"She's gone," Lucian said as Dante opened his eyes, looking at the cowering man in his grip. "So how do you want to do this?"

"Well, I think her stomach will be far more sensitive than ours since she wasn't born an Alpha," Dante replied as he revealed the claws of his right and used one to lightly prick the man's shoulder.

He drew out the claw and licked the blood off the tip, carefully tasting it, as the man's face contorted in a mix of horror and disgust.

"He's clean. I couldn't taste anything in his blood," Dante said as he glanced at Lucian.

"Then let's begin," Lucian said as he stepped behind Dante and dug into the backpack, pulling out several large flasks and airtight containers.

'_Hope he isn't too much of a screamer,' _Dante thought as he watched Lucian grab the wrist, unleashing his claws as well.

* * *

**Author's Rant: A little twisted . . . oh well. I will say this, he was a definite screamer. I'm pretty sure everyone can guess where this is going**

**Comment~Review~Feedback!**

**Till next week, Jbubu**


	49. To Be Complete

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Another chapter, more developments and surprises, hope everyone enjoys!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: noobalisious and yuvinile**

* * *

"So after she's stable, you guys can take her?" Kiara asked.

"Mmhmm," Athena answered from her seat beside the bed.

"And to do that she needs to eat . . . human flesh?" Havasu asked from his seat at the foot of her bed.

"That's what Dante said," Athena replied as she grabbed a tissue and sneezed.

"That is . . . terrifying," Thantos muttered as he leaned against the window. "And you should still be in bed," he added with an accusing finger aimed at Athena.

"I'm fine," she retorted in denial.

"No you aren't," Crato, Thantos, and Havasu quipped at the same time.

Athena pouted at that and looked to Kiara for support. '_What can I do? I'm stuck in bed too,'_ Kiara mused as she sighed and looked at the other Slayers.

"I could use the company," Kiara argued. "After all, Dante is going to be busy with Lily, Crato already agreed to help Brick do maintenance on all our weapon . . ."

"He really did get pissed that we made him fly down to the base of the mountain to recover some of them," Crato muttered offhandedly.

"Lucian and Thantos promised to help teams JNPR and CFVY with some training today, and Havasu had something about detention with Glynda . . . why is that anyway?" she asked.

"Hehe . . . I got caught snooping where I shouldn't have," Havasu chuckled. "Do pray for me while I'm gone."

"You're on your own," Thantos replied instantly.

"Didn't know we could even get detention," Athena mumbled softly.

"It's good to have friends," Havasu sighed.

The group collectively laughed, enjoying the idle banter until the door opened, a familiar duo stepping in, their hair drenched.

"You smell like a wet dog," was the first thing Crato said as they stepped closer.

Lucian shot him a glare as he pulled his hood down before he smirked and stepped closer to Crato. He then shook himself just like a dog, generously giving Crato his own cold shower.

"Dude!" Crato shouted as he jumped back, dragging his hand over his face. "Not cool."

Lucian chuckled as he ran his hand through his grey locks. "A joke for a joke."

While the partners bantered back and forth Dante ignited himself, his body being swallowed in a silver and blue flame for all of 3 seconds before they vanished, leaving his steaming frame behind, completely dry.

"Why didn't you do that before you trudged through the entire hospital wing?" Athena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Didn't want to give someone a heart attack," Dante replied as he unslung his backpack, setting it on a small desk beside Kiara's bed.

Everyone suddenly got quiet as Dante opened the backpack and brought out an airtight container, about the size of a small lunchbox, and handed it to Kiara.

"You need this to recover," he said as he took out a large flask and set it down beside her night stand.

He then took one more flask out before zipping the backpack shut and tossing it to Lucian.

"Is that?" Athena asked as she looked at the container in Kiara's hands.

Kiara nodded as she looked at it, cracking the corner of the lid open and smelling the fresh flesh inside. She glanced at the Slayers around her, becoming especially self-conscious of the four humans watching her. Dante noticed her hesitation, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Ok, I think we should give her a moment," Dante said but Kiara interjected.

"No . . . I mean . . . we shouldn't hide it. It's what we are after all," she said as she looked at each of the humans present.

Athena sighed as she took Dante's hand. "She's right . . . it was bound to happen at one point or another . . . and besides, how else can we truly trust each other?"

Dante looked at Athena for a moment before glancing at Kiara. "If you're really ok with it."

Kiara nodded before looking at her other teammates.

"Might as well," Havasu agreed as he looked at the container. Crato and Thantos nodded as well.

Kiara took a breath. "Ok . . . just don't expect it to be pretty," she mumbled as she peeled off the lid completely to reveal her meal, a human heart and liver.

As the scent wafted over her she felt a hungry growl escape her stomach, her nails extending to form dark, red claws, and her eyes shifting to those of a lion. Only now did she feel just how hungry she was, her eyes zeroing on the liver first, being the most nutritious part of any prey. It took all of her willpower to not devour the meat as quickly as possible, acting on the instinct that pulse in her blood.

Part of her wished that it wasn't so, that she could look away from the meat brought to her, and say that she didn't want it, but that would have been a lie. Even with years of steadily eating Grimm meat and forcing herself to the taste of overly processed food, the aroma of a human's flesh enticed her unlike anything else.

She gingerly picked up the liver and brought it to her mouth, her jaw opening beyond what a human's normally would be capable of, and sinking her fangs into the still warm flesh before tearing off the chunk. From taste alone she could tell it was a prime aged human, not a day past 30, with a high fat content and the slightest trace of alcohol. She forced her face to remain neutral as she barely chewed before swallowing the piece, her powerful neck muscles making short work of forcing the meat down.

She finished the liver in 2 more bites, some blood dripping down her chin and onto her hospital gown. She glanced at the Slayers around her, noting how each was taking the sight. Athena steadily looked on, not showing any obvious sign of disgust but Kiara could see that her hand was squeezing Dante's. Crato and Thantos looked a little pale while Havasu eyes kept darting from her face to the heart still in the container.

Lucian had his eyes closed and face downcast as he crossed his arms, tightly gripping his own arms as his ears flattened down. Dante also had his face turned away, instead looking out the window as he took steady breaths. She knew it wasn't from disgust, far from it. They were both trying their best to not go after the flesh themselves, their inner predators demanding that they feed as well.

During missions it was easy to kill and move on, their goals allowing them to drown out the desire to taste blood but like this, without any looming thoughts or directives, the scent of blood was calling to the primal side. It was a battle for control that would never end and in their worst nightmares, a battle that they will eventually lose. She could tell that Dante would never allow himself to feed in front of Athena, Blake, or Velvet, wanting to spare them such a terrible sight.

She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, the edge of her hunger already fading as she looked down at her bloody hands.

"I'm sorry you had to see this," she whispered as her ears flattened down.

"Hey, hey, it was our choice to watch. You have nothing to apologize for," Havasu said as he placed a hand on her leg. "Besides, like Dante said, you need it to recover."

"We'll be ok, just need a little time to get . . . used to it," Thantos agreed as he stepped away from the window. "We'll leave you to finish your meal in private."

"Agreed," Crato said as he tapped Lucian on the shoulder and gestured for him to come along.

Havasu gave her another nod before getting up and leaving as well, leaving only Dante, Athena, and herself in the room.

Dante then leaned closer and rested a hand on her shoulder as he looked at her with warm eyes. "It's ok, just focus on getting some rest." He then gave her a kiss on the forehead before turning and giving Athena a kiss on the cheek, then walking out of the room with the flask in hand.

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Athena got another tissue and leaned closer, gently wiping away the blood stains on Kiara's chin. Kiara briefly smiled as she looked at Athena.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"Anytime," Athena replied gently as moved on to Kiara's hands.

"You know, of all the humans I've met, I like you the most," she continued making Athena smile.

"And why is that?" Athena asked as she discarded the tissue.

"Because . . . you've seen us at our worst and still treat us like people. You actually accept us . . . and even love one of us."

Athena looked at her with soft eyes, brimming with kindness. "Even if I wasn't in love with Dante . . . I would still be your friend Kiara. You aren't monsters to me," she said as she pulled Kiara into a hug.

Kiara felt her tears finally start to fall as she hugged Athena back, finding solace in her presence. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Athena slowly released the hug and sat back, brushing away a tear of her own.

"So," Athena started as she glanced at the still open container. "Are you going to finish that?"

Kiara shook her head. She could already feel her body absorbing the liver and starting to heal her injuries, the strain in her muscles slowly dissipating.

"Later," she answered as she put the lid back on it.

"Then want me to take it back to my dorm? It would be messy if a nurse came in and got curious about it," Athena continued.

"Sure," Kiara agreed as she settled back on her pillow. She really wanted to get some more sleep and with something now in her stomach it would hopefully be easier. A yawn escaped her.

"Sleep well," Athena murmured as she stood up and took the container before turning to leave.

As she left the room Kiara looked towards the window, following the rain droplets as they ran down the glass.

"You really did find a gem in the desert Dante," she whispered as she closed her eyes with a small smile, soon falling into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

He listened to the drone of small gears as the elevator lowered, stopping at the second floor. He couldn't hear the rain anymore, instead an eerie silence taking hold as the doors opened to reveal a long hall, pristinely clean and lit with fluorescent lights. He slowly walked forward, past several rooms that looked like small offices, then shifting into holding rooms fully furnished with beds, small bathrooms, and desks. '_So these are the rooms for security sensitive personnel,' _Dante thought as he started to count the room numbers.

'_A . . . B . . . C . . . D . . .' _He stopped at room E, the sliding door door sealed shut with a deadbolt and electronic scanner. He could hear the faintest crying from behind. He sighed as he unlocked the door by passing his key card over the scanner and slowly opened it before walking in. The bed had been overturned, the sheets torn, along with a broken set of handcuffs on the floor, and a patch of vomit near the bed but otherwise the room looked like the others.

He walked past the bed and looked at the far corner. There was Lily, dressed in a small white dress and sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, sobbing away.

"Lily," he whispered.

The girl jumped at the call of her name, looking at Dante with her crimson eyes. Her eyes had reverted to the human form but her fangs and claws remained exposed, making her the spitting image of a vampire with her marble white hair and accenting bat ears. She didn't scream as she had the first time she saw him but he could hear her heart rate rise as she pulled her knees closer, whimpering softly.

It hurt to see her be so scared of him but she had every right to be scared of him . . . and that was without even knowing just how much he'd already done to her. He sighed softly as he sat down a few feet from her, giving her some space to adjust to his presence.

After a few minutes of silence he spoke again. "What's wrong?" He wanted to be as gentle as he could, letting her come to him.

She looked at him wearily, her eyes scanning him up and down before speaking in a trembling voice.

"It . . . hurts."

"What does?" he asked softly.

". . . My . . . belly."

"When did it start?"

" . . ."

He watched as she stared at her knees, thinking back to how it began.

"The doctor . . . she gave me some pudding . . . then it hurt and I threw up," she explained. "My teeth and nails grew . . . and everything went red…I woke up on the floor alone . . . and my belly still hurts."

She gave Dante a pleading look, clearly hoping that he would know how to make it stop. He sighed softly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the flask but the moment he moved she flinched, as if expecting to be struck. He looked back at her, her eyes glancing over the flask before returning to his face.

"Lily . . . do you remember the lady that found you?"

She nodded slowly. "The nice one."

"Well her name is Athena," he continued.

"Athena . . ." Lily echoed, hopefully memorizing it.

"And my name is Dante."

"Dante?" It was more of a question then a statement. He nodded as he pointed to the flask.

"This will make you feel better . . . but you can only drink it if Athena or I give it to you."

" . . . What's in it?"

Dante thought for a moment before answering, "A special fruit punch." He wasn't sure how Lily would react to the truth.

Lily stared at him for a brief pause before she slowly got on to her knees and crawled closer, eyes darting between him and the flask. '_Her hunger is overshadowing her fear,' _he thought as he waited for her to get as close as she felt comfortable. She stopped just a foot away from him, looking at him cautiously as she reached for the flask. Her small hands slowly took it out his hands as she sat with her legs folded under.

She then unsealed the cap and sniffed the lid, her face frowning in confusion for a moment before looking at him. "It smells . . . like blood."

'_So she can already identify the scent,' _he mused as he answered. "I know . . . just try it and see."

She blinked at him for a moment before looking back at the flask and taking a sip. Her eyes widened as she pulled back, staring in amazement at the flask before her eyes shifted to look like Alluria's, the sclera being pitch black and her pupils expanding to make it look as if her full eye was black with a single red ring. She then returned the flask to her lips and took a proper drink. Dante watched her take to the flask, drinking the blood ravenously as to quench her hunger, a hunger that she would carry until the end of her days.

She finished the flask in just under a minute, giving a content sigh as a drop of blood ran down her chin. She then looked at him, shyly returning the flask as her claws and fangs began to recede, her eyes returning to their distinct white and scarlet coloration.

"How do you feel?" he asked as he took the flask.

"Better . . ." she mumbled as she looked at him nervously. "The pain is gone."

"That's good," he replied as he slowly began to stand, making sure to not make any sudden moves and startle her. "I'll be back with Athena a little later and . . ."

"Wait!" she shouted, making him snap around to look at her.

"Don't leave me alone . . . again," she said in a quivering voice. "I don't want . . . to be here."

Dante could see the fear in her eyes, part of it from realizing that she had just shouted at someone who scared her and the other, a fear of being alone. She had been abandoned in the mountain and then woke up in a strange place with people she didn't know. Now one of the two people she recognized was leaving and thought of being alone again terrified her.

'_I can't just walk her around Beacon . . . not yet anyways,' _he thought as he took a breath. '_Ozpin didn't say I could but I won't just leave her here.'_ He then dropped to one knee in front of her, making her lean back with watery eyes.

"I want . . . Athena," she said in a tiny voice, her eyes darting between his face and the floor.

He looked at her, wanting to comply and take her but also weighing any possible repercussions he may have with Ozpin for taking her. In the end, leaving her alone and scared wouldn't do any good, so he sighed as took of his jacket.

"Ok . . . you can come with me," he said. "But you need to wear this and stay quiet."

Lily glanced at him unsurely, flinching as he gently draped the jacket over her shoulders, hiding her form. He then gently picked her up in a bridal carry, her eyes looking up at him with apprehension before they slowly began to shut as she let her head rest against his chest.

He listened to her heart rate, the once rapid pace now falling to a comfortable beat as she tucked her hands over her chest and exhaled.

He couldn't help but wonder as he walked out of the room. '_I think the others are going to freak when they hear about this . . .'_

* * *

Ok, maybe he should have at least messaged ahead of time. That would have let him know that the dorm wasn't empty . . . oh no, in fact it was quite lively. As it turns out Athena had returned after leaving Kiara to rest and had chanced upon Velvet, Blake and Yang, all of whom had finished their day's classes. So naturally, Dante walked in carrying a child draped in his jacket into a living room with 4 sets of eyes landing on him.

He wasn't sure why the wide eyes and jaws hitting the floor but luckily everyone stayed quiet the moment he shot them a 'not a word' glare. He then proceeded into his room and settled Lily, who was deep asleep thanks to having a full stomach, into Athena's bed and covered her up to the shoulders. Lily squirmed a little before clinging onto one of Athena's pillows and sniffed it before smiling as she hugged it tighter. '_That's good, she recognized Athena's scent,'_ he thought as he quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

He then turned towards the living room, all attention on him. No one made a sound until he pulled up a chair towards the couch and sat down.

"Alright," he half groaned. "Fire away but keep it down."

"Umm . . . Dante?" Velvet began, looking at him and Athena. "Who was that?"

"And why did you take her into your room?" Blake added.

"Long story short, we rescued her during our mission."

The 3 girls gasped, their eyes widening as Dante continued.

"She is an orphan and we already confirmed that she doesn't have any living relatives. Now normally there is a procedure to follow but she can't be sent to any orphanage."

"Why?" Yang asked,

"Because she is an Alpha breed faunus like me. It hurts to say it but she would be dangerous to anyone without hunter training," he explained.

"And that is because...?" Yang persisted.

"She is going through her growth phase," he replied making Blake and Velvet shudder. "Just think of it as a pre-puberty that causes significant changes in her biology and anatomy . . . and sometimes results in spikes of aggression. That coupled with the fact that as an Alpha, she is already strong enough to overpower a regular adult, it would be risky to have her around anyone who can't handle themselves."

"So how is she?" Athena asked, her eyes glancing at their door.

"Full and out like a rock. I put her in your bed since a familiar scent will make her feel safer," he answered.

"And when do you think she'll wake up?" she asked.

"She's had a rough few weeks and probably hasn't gotten any solid sleep. She should be out for several hours and when she does wake up, all she'll want to do is eat again and head straight back to sleep," he replied.

"Ok . . . and how was she?" Athena asked, clearly hinting for more details on how Lily was treated while in detainment.

Dante glanced at the students present, knowing that they would need a thorough explanation . . . at least somewhat.

"How do you think? Terrified, panicking in a corner after waking up in a strange room without a single clue as to what was going on. At least she recognized me when I got there and calmed down . . . sort of anyways," he finished with a sigh.

"Oh," Some of the girls mumbled as Dante fixed them all with a hard look.

"Look, it's a lot more complicated than I can explain so this is the bottom line. Ozpin has assigned me and Athena as her guardians so she'll be staying with us for the foreseeable future. Also, I would really appreciate it if the facts about her are kept to us present, at least until things get finalized anyways," he said.

The three students exchanged a few looks before nodding at him with faint smiles.

"What's her name?" Velvet asked.

"Lily," Athena replied softly.

"That's a cute name," Blake replied.

"Yeah . . . it is," Dante agreed as he stretched, glad to get things settled easily. "Today has been a long day."

"Hey Dante?" Athena said as she poked his shoulder to make him look at her. "Are you sure it's ok for Lily to be in the room? I mean, I've been sick and sneezing all day in there."

"She'll be fine, the immune and digestive systems are the first to be retrofitted during a growth so a simple cold shouldn't be a problem, especially if she's kept well fed," he explained.

"So what type of faunus is she?" Yang asked. "It almost looked like she had elf ears."

Dante couldn't help but chuckle at Yang's comparison. "You weren't imagining things, those were her ears. She is a type of bat and the ears are her primary feature."

"Cool," Yang quipped as she leaned back, looking satisfied for now until her eyes lit up.

"Does she have fangs!?" she asked excitedly just before 2 separate hands whacked her in the back of the head.

"That's rude!" Velvet and Blake accused while Yang rubbed the back of her head with a frown.

"Yes she does," Dante replied as he stifled his laughter.

"So what now?" Velvet asked as everyone settle down.

"Eat and rest," Dante answered as he got up from the chair and went to the fridge.

He had to do a double take when he saw the contents, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the girls couldn't see over his shoulder. They were softly talking to each other, asking little bits and pieces about Lily and what it meant for their team or more precisely, for Athena and himself. '_They didn't notice,' _he thought in relief as he looked back into the fridge.

The fridge had regular food but there were also several small containers of flesh and flasks of blood stacked into the corner. '_Good thing we went with solid color containers rather than see through,' _he thought as he closed the fridge door and moved to the pantry. He made due with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, scarfing it down in a few bites before returning to the living room.

"Well, we will catch you guys later," Yang said as she and the others stood up. "Ice Queen wanted a team study hour and I don't want to deal with being late."

"I'm going to my dorm as well. Coco said something about wanting to inspect my wardrobe today," Velvet added with a roll of the eyes.

Dante gave a small chuckle as he patted her in the head, earning an annoyed pout before she smiled and waved goodbye, following after Blake and Yang. Once they were gone Dante plopped down on the couch beside Athena. She responded by scooting over and laying her head on his lap, sighed contently as she closed her eyes.

"Comfy?" he asked as he draped an arm over her shoulder.

"Yep."

He was about to say something else but then his scroll rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and read through the message while Athena opened one eye to look up at him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Ozpin. He wants all Slayers to meet in his office at 9:30 today," he answered as he looked at the time. "Gives us nearly 8 hours."

"So what do you want to do?" she asked as she closed her eyes again.

"Well, I did say I wanted to sleep so . . . how about we just take a nap like this? Plus we'll be close by if Lily wakes up."

"Sounds like a plan," Athena agreed as she turned over and cuddled into his side making him chuckle again, soon closing his eyes as well.

* * *

"Are you sure she'll be ok?"

"Athena, she will be fine, I trust Blake to be a responsible adult and Weiss is with her," Dante replied as they walked down the halls towards Ozpin's office.

"Maybe . . . but just why was it that all of team RWBY had to tag along?" Athena persisted.

"Because Yang let slip that we had Lily and the moment I went and asked her to watch Lily for a few they all wanted to come along," he replied. "Besides, I gave Blake and Weiss very clear directions on what to do if Lily wakes up."

"Are you sure?" Athena asked with clear worry.

"Positive."

"You two sound like a couple on their first night out after hiring a new sitter," Kiara teased from her wheelchair, making the couple blush. She still hadn't recovered enough to walk so Thantos had gotten her a wheelchair to bring her along.

"You do realize that you can't run if I go after your ears, right?" Dante said with narrowed eyes.

"Yes but you're too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a lady," she almost sang back.

" . . . Dammit."

Their group began to chuckle as they arrived at the elevator, quickly stepping in and beginning their ascension.

"So, what are you guys going to do about sleeping arrangements?" Crato asked to fill the silence.

"Ozpin said something about moving us to a new dorm," Dante answered.

"And then the earthquakes will begin," Havasu snickered before Dante flicked him in the forehead.

"So defensive," Thantos muttered as the elevator arrived and the doors opened.

They filed out, forming a line in front of Ozpin and Glynda to his side. Dante also noticed a new person standing near the left wall. Once they were settled Ozpin cleared his throat to begin.

"Slayers, I called you here to introduce someone," Ozpin said as he gestured for the man to come forward.

He looked about 20, standing an inch above Dante with a lighter tone, dark green eyes, and military cut black hair. His uniform looked Atlisian but the coloration wasn't like the usual whites and light greys. Instead he wore dark grey combat pants with black steel toed boots reaching up over his ankles. He had what looked like a thin vest meant to take low caliber bullets, a dark green shirt underneath. He also had a jacket over it that fell just shy of reaching his waist, designed white and green accents while the base color was a lighter shade of grey.

He was in what looked like some form of harness, multiple straps overlapping across his waist. Dante's eyes then focused on what was attached to the harness. He had 2 disk like containers strapped to his lower back, connected by a coil box and release mechanism. The contraption then had 2 wires running through a set of rings on his hip before connecting to 2 sheathed, foot long blades. Judging from the shape of the sheath Dante guessed that they were either shaped like broad leaves or hooks. He also had what looked like a set of dual handles, one holster under each arm, shaped like they were meant to hold a sword but also topped with a trigger and several small switches easily accessible with the thumb and index finger.

His strange appearance aside, the last thing Dante took note of was an emblem hanging on his belt. It was a small shield, like the standards of Atlas, with a mask of tragedy covering the center. Taking in his image as a whole, he looked serious but not unfriendly. Once the man was stepping directly next to the desk Ozpin continued.

"His name is Cicero Lucilius, he is a Slayer like yourselves but has been transferred from Atlas' academy to Beacon as our fourth and final Ghost," Ozpin explained before he looked at Cicero while gesturing to Havasu. "Cicero, this is Havasu Tiypn, your new team leader along with your teammates Thantos Aingeal and Kiara Nyekundu."

"Sir," Cicero said as he gave a brief salute to Havasu.

"From now on your team shall be known as team Acheron (AHCN) and work in close detail with team ASCZ, led by Dante Argentum and his teammates Athena Sapphirus, Crato Jofur, and Lucian Ze'ev."

Once Ozpin stopped Cicero moved to join them in their line, standing beside Thantos, before everyone turned their attention to Ozpin.

"Now that the matter of your teams is resolved, I have but a few things to discuss. First off, Dante, how is Lily?"

"Safe and sound," Dante replied smoothly.

"And where is she now?" Glynda asked in a heated tone. Dante noticed that Ozpin's eyes momentarily flicked to her before returning to focus on Dante.

"Asleep in our dorm."

"Alone!?" Glynda snapped.

"Team RWBY is watching her," Dante replied with a smirk.

"W-What? Do you have any idea the danger you just placed them in!?" she hissed, her green eyes giving him a piercing glare.

Dante didn't flinch, instead returning a glare of his own. "I am far more aware than you Goodwitch. For starters, she is too young to pose a threat to students of Beacon's caliber and isn't even aware of her ability. Secondly, Blake alone could handle the situation if push came to shove but that's unlikely to happen . . . after all, it's not like she will be waking up half starved in a strange room with her wrist cuffed to a bed again . . ."

Dante caught a subtle growl escape from Kiara, while the other Slayers, save Cicero, were directing hard glares at Goodwitch.

"Instead she will wake up in a warm bed, the scent of two familiar adults surrounding her and a team of friendly students just outside the door. Blake is also already aware of Lily's fragile mental and physical state, and I gave exact instructions for the girls should she wake up before we return," he finished, his eyes boring into Glynda.

She broke off the stare after a few moment, looking past them as Ozpin cleared his throat to regain their attention.

"That is good to hear, then to the next point. I will have you and Ms. Sapphirus moved to a new suite on the 4th floor so as to accommodate Lily. As for Mr. Ze'ev and Mr. Jofur, you can remain in your current dorm or be moved to a new suite as well and adjust accordingly."

"We'll be fine with our current lodgings," Lucian replied.

Ozpin nodded before continuing. "Returning to the subject of Lily, her forms are complete and she is now legally in your custody along with Ms. Sapphirus, as per your request. As of now, Lily Valerious has officially ceased to exist and I have chosen to omit creating a new identity, leaving it to you for when you believe the time is right."

Dante caught the momentary glint in Ozpin's eyes, knowing what he was referring to with 'the time is right'. It had fallen to the back of his mind, the hunt for blood taking precedence over making his definitive decision. He nodded at Ozpin, acknowledging the choice that loomed in his possibly near future.

"You are dismissed," Ozpin said as he took his seat. The Slayers turned and left without another word.

* * *

**Author's Rant: The tension is thick here . . . oh well. The final Slayer arrives! Let me know your thoughts please! Review, PM, send a pigeon, anything works!**


	50. Adjusting

**Author's Note: The story continues, the feels are strong here. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"Catch you guys in the morning," Havasu called as he, Thantos, and Kiara headed off to their dorm to show Cicero to his shared room with Kiara.

Dante watched them go, wondering how the completed team would get along. He could have sworn he saw Cicero almost blush when he was told that he would be sharing a room with Kiara. '_Hope he is used to boisterous females, otherwise . . . Oum help him,'_ Dante mused as he looked to his door, the rest of his team behind him.

He opened the door, not needing to use his scroll since it was already unlocked, and walked into the living room. As he arrived 4 pairs of eyes settled on him, ignoring the TV and whatever show it was that they were watching.

"How'd it go?" he asked lightly, glancing at the door to his room while Lucian and Crato went passed him with a wave as they went into their room. Athena followed up behind him, greeting the girls with a soft smile.

"Good. I didn't hear so much as a peep," Blake answered as the 4 girls stood up from the couch.

"Was kinda hoping she would wake up though," Ruby admitted shyly as the girls stepped up to him.

"Don't worry, once things get settled you'll have a chance to properly meet her," Dante said apologetically.

"Thank you again for looking after her," Athena said.

"Hey, it's not like you were gone for long," Yang replied with a shrug.

"It would be a pleasure to do again," Weiss chimed in.

"Really?" Athena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As long as next time we get to actually play with her," Ruby added with a grin.

"Hmm . . . maybe, but for now I think it's best to give her time to rest and adjust," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

The girls picked up on his tone, understanding that Lily had been through a very rough time, and nodded slowly before Blake spoke.

"Then we'll get going, see you tomorrow?"

"Yep, Port's lecture . . . wouldn't miss it for the world," Dante said with a groan at the end making the girls giggle as they gave their goodbyes and headed out.

Once they were gone Dante and Athena turned to their door, slowly approaching it before opening and stepping in. Lily was sitting up in Athena's bed, looking at the Grimm plushy that Dante had left on his nightstand ever since Velvet gave it to him. He knew she was up, likely hearing the girls outside and staying silent rather than venture outside the room and into the unknown. Lily then turned to look at them, her eyes quickly taking in their appearance, before she spoke softly.

"Athena . . ." Her eyes then shifted to Dante, a trace of fear coming through as she spoke in a smaller voice. "Dante . . ."

"Hey Lily," Athena replied softly as she slowly approached the girl, her eyes watching her every movement. "You learned my name?"

"Dante . . . taught me," she replied shyly.

Athena then gently cupped her cheek, running her thumb over Lily's cheek making her smile timidly.

"And how are you feeling?" Athena asked.

"Better . . . but a little hungry," Lily replied as her eyes glanced to Dante.

"I'll bring you some more punch," Dante said as he left the room to retrieve another flask.

He opened up the fridge and noted that there were 4 more. '_Enough to hold her through until the morning after tomorrow,' _he thought as he grabbed one and closed the fridge. '_It will be better if it's warm.' _He ignited his right palm, a small silver flame dancing across it, before he grabbed onto the flask and shook it lightly, keeping the flames alight for about 10 seconds before he snuffed it out.

The then uncapped it and let a drop fall on his finger before bringing it closer to tasting it. Just before it made contact with his tongue he stopped himself, worried that a taste would make him hungry and result with downing the crimson liquid himself. So instead he wiped the blood away and returned to the room, closing the door behind him. Athena was now sitting on the bed beside Lily, speaking softly to her as she tucked her hair behind her ear. They both turned to look at him as he stepped closer, Lily's eyes immediately falling to the flask.

"Here you go," he said softly, approaching slowly before handing the flask to Lily.

She took a small sip at first, her eyes shifting again as she took another larger drink. Dante and Athena watched silently, letting the child drink in peace. She took a few minutes to finish it this time, her pace being far calmer and more measured than the first time. After she finished she offered it back to Dante, a few stray drops of blood running down her chin. Athena then reached for a few tissues and started to wipe the blood away.

"Feeling better?" she asked in a warm voice.

Lily nodded, a shy smile on her face as her eyes occasionally glanced at the plushy on the nightstand. Dante chuckled lightly as he walked over to the stand and picked up the plushy before looking at Lily.

"Do you like it?" he asked with a smile.

Lily looked at him for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Then here," he said as he got closer and offered the ursa plushy.

Lily looked at him questioningly before hesitantly reaching for the plushy and taking it from his hands. She looked at it in her hands, her shy smile growing, before she hugged the toy. Athena cooed at the sight as Dante smiled, finding Lily's display to be absolutely adorable.

After a minute or so Lily looked at him and Athena before speaking in a low voice, "Um . . . is it a boy or girl?"

"Huh?" Dante replied as he looked at the girl in surprise. He'd honestly never thought about it, simply keeping it because of sentimental value.

He glanced at Athena but she just shrugged with a smile, leaving it up to him. '_Ok, think fast!'_

". . . Boy."

"And his name?"

'_And round two . . . why not,'_ Lily was looking at him expectantly, waiting with a cute tilt of the head.

"Mr. Snuggles," he blurted out before he could even register what he said. '_Oh . . . my . . . Oum . . . where did that come from!?'_

Athena covered her mouth as she stifled her laughter, a tear of mirth leaking out as she looked at him. He tried to ignore it, instead focusing on Lily. Her smile grew as she hugged the toy again, whispering Mr. Snuggles to herself. Dante could have sworn the display was too cute to be legal.

Lily then sighed contently as she leaned on Athena. Dante smiled to himself, wanting to give the two a moment so he slowly stepped back, grabbed a full change of clothes to sleep in, and went to the bathroom. He gently closed the door behind him and stripped before stepping into the shower, blasting on the water without the slightest care what temperature it was at.

He took his time showering, thinking over the events of the last 72 hours. Just two days ago, he'd been in a danger zone, on a mission to eliminate everyone and everything he found, while silently praying that he wouldn't need to use the accursed sword. Little did he suspect that he would not only return with a child and have destroyed the presence of the sword but now would even be tasked to look after that child... a child who he'd already hurt in an unforgivable way.

Was it a cruel joke or was it a chance to do one right in an ocean of wrongs? Could he even do it? Keep Lily, a hybrid, safe not only from humans and those responsible for her creation, but other Alphas as well. There was no doubt that any other Alpha that saw her would get the same reaction he initially had. Himself aside, the only other Alphas Lily would be safe near was Kiara and Lucian.

"What a mess," he sighed to himself as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, momentarily igniting himself to dry.

He soon got dressed in his regular shorts and a simple t-shirt before stepping out of the bathroom, his heart nearly jumping out of his throat at the sight before him.

Lily was cuddled to Mr. Snuggles, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as Athena brought the covers up to her shoulders. She then softly whispered goodnight as she tucked some of Lily's hair out of her face and stepped back, gazing down at the sleeping girl.

Dante walked up quietly behind Athena and wrapped his arms around her waist in a gentle hug. She didn't say anything, simply leaning back into his arms as she brought one hand up to cup his cheek.

After a few minutes of silence she spoke in a whisper. "Ready for bed?"

He nodded as he released the embrace and got into his bed. As he got comfortable Athena grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom to get change, returning shortly in a dark shirt that seemed too big for her and had a remarkable resemblance to one of his along with a pair of yoga pants. She then walked over to the only lamp illuminating the room and turned it off, blanketing them in darkness.

She crawled into bed with him, using her hands to search for his face before pulling him into a warm kiss.

"Goodnight," she said sweetly as she cuddled into him.

"Goodnight," he answered as he draped one arm over her waist and watched her fall asleep.

He then took a moment to look to the bed across from them, looking at Lily's tranquil face, before returning his gaze to Athena. '_There may be risks . . . but I want to protect this, keep them safe and happy . . .'_ he thought as his eyes fell shut.

* * *

"So as I wrestled the Ursa to the ground, the beast tried to throw me off but I . . ."

"Why . . ." Dante groaned silently as he watched the Professor walk back and forth in front of the students, telling another one of his tall tales.

He for one, was bored out of his mind and so he looked around the classroom for anything to distract him. The fact that neither Kiara nor Athena were present made it worse since Kiara needed another day in the infirmary and Athena had stayed behind to care for Lily. Dante wondered if he would have gotten in any trouble for skipping but chose to follow up rather than risk it.

He looked around the class, passing over some of the students. As if by some miracle, teams JNPR and RWBY had all members conscious and listening to Port, or at least looking like they were. Dante could see the subtle glances all 8 students were giving him, giving off a vibe that they were anxious to speak to him. He had a good idea of what but chose to pass off as oblivious until the class ends.

'_5 more minutes,'_ he mused as Port finished his story.

"Now then, with that conclusion, I want a 5 page essay on the vulnerabilities of Ursai and how to exploit them by this time next week, before your fall break begins. Class is dismissed."

With that the students started to shuffle along and out of the room, Dante waiting until all were out before he made his exit as well. Just as he'd expected, both teams were just a small distance from the class, giving him expectant looks.

"Hey," he said as he approached them.

It got several greetings back as he stopped before them.

"So, let me guess . . . you want to see Lily?" he asked, getting multiple shy nods.

"We didn't get the chance last night," Ruby said.

"And Yang said she was adorable, with white elf ears!" Nora exclaimed with a small hop.

"Really now?" Dante asked as he glanced at Yang, the blonde shrugging with a nervous laugh.

"I must admit that we were quite curious after team RWBY returned last night and told us," Pyrrha added with a nod from Jaune.

"News flies around here," Dante sighed as he scratched his head. "As much as I would like to, it wouldn't be a good idea to introduce all of you."

"Why?" Ruby and Nora asked in unison.

"Because it will be too much for her. Me and Athena know that all of you are perfectly friendly and don't mean her any harm but she doesn't. Having so many new faces around will just scare her and make her cry," Dante explained with a hint of sadness.

The teens deflated with his words, even the usually stoic Ren, upset with not being able to meet the new child in Dante's care. He looked at their crestfallen faces and thought it over. '_If I start off small, then maybe I can start introducing them slowly. I'm sure more friendly faces will do Lily some good too.'_ He took a quick breath before waving his hand to get their attention.

"Ok, how about this? We'll wait for a day or so until she adjusts and then I'll take you in pairs to meet. That way it isn't overwhelming and she starts getting familiar with you," he said.

The teens all perked up at that, Ruby and Nora positively bustling with excitement.

"Awesome, who goes first?" Yang asked. "Me and Blake right? Since we've already seen her . . . sorta."

"Actually it will be Ruby and Jaune."

Everyone gave him confused looks, so he explained.

"Don't take this the wrong way but, Jaune and Ruby aside, the six of you are too intimidating for Lily. Ren, Weiss, and Blake all have a reserved and somewhat cold demeanor that shows through even if you're trying to be friendly."

Blake and Weiss narrowed their eyes at him but he just shrugged.

"Yang and Nora on the other hand are too friendly . . . and loud. Lily is way too shy for that and she might panic if you try to get too close too fast. Then between Ruby and Pyrrha, I went with Ruby because she was in our dorm last night so Lily might already be familiar with her scent. That and she comes off as a puppy, complete with the size and knack for chasing her favored treats."

"Hey!" Ruby said with a pout as the others laughed lightly.

"Wait, why was Jaune the first choice?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Well," Dante said as he looked at the knight, whom was currently pushing out his chest proudly. "I'm sorry but even if I put myself in Lily's shoes, I can't picture you ever being intimidating, let alone a threat. You just come off as . . . well you."

Jaune deflated like a popped balloon, a fresh set of laughter escaping his classmates. After they settled down, they split up to do whatever it was that they had planned for the day.

As he walked back to his room he considered how to go about adjusting Lily to him. He could feel her fear but it wasn't at the same level as when she'd seen him at Razorback. '_Slow and steady,' _he thought as he knocked softly before entering. He looked in the kitchen to see Athena making tea, dressed in some slim jeans and a dark blouse. She glanced at him and smiled as she walked over and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

"How is she?" he asked as looked past the kitchen.

"Better," she replied as he looked to the living room and spotted Lily.

She was sitting on the far end of the couch with Mr. Snuggles by her side as she drew on some pieces of paper, still oblivious to his arrival. He glanced at Athena before making his way towards the couch. As he stepped closer Lily looked up from her drawing, her hand stopping as she straightened up with her crimson eyes focused on him.

"Dante . . ." she said timidly as he slowly kneeled in front of her with a small smile.

"Hey Lily . . . how are you?" he asked gently.

"I'm ok . . . Athena was really nice and fed me," Lily answered as one hand reached for Mr. Snuggles and pulled him into her lap.

"And how did you sleep?"

"It was warm," Lily replied shyly.

"That's good," he replied as he looked over his shoulder to Athena, remaining on the other side of the counter in the kitchen, watching them as she drank her tea.

He looked back to Lily, noting how the girl observed him, her body tense as she hugged onto the plushy. '_I need to think of something . . .'_ he pondered as his eyes scanned along the sofa, focusing on her drawings.

"What are those?" he asked gently.

Lily looked at the scattered papers before her eyes lit up as she then grabbed a few of the papers and glanced at them before shyly offering some of them to him. Taking the invitation, Dante took the paper and scanned over the drawings quickly, finding nothing that resembled anything from the Razorback Mountains or her time spent in the lab. Instead they looked like meadows, mountains, something that looked suspiciously like Mr. Snuggles, and generally carefree drawings.

He sighed softly to himself as he gave her a small smile. "These are pretty," he said as he handed the drawings back. Lily took it and set it down before giving him one timid glance, then picking up her colored pencils and resuming to draw.

He quietly stood back up and backed away, leaving the child to her activities as he made his way to the kitchen. Once there he looked at Athena before running his hand through his hair.

"Looks like it's going well," Athena commented as she watched Lily work on a blank paper.

"Yeah, it was the right choice to start bring her here rather than leave her in that room," Dante replied as he watched her as well. "I'd say she's doing better than expected."

"That's good."

"I'm sort of surprised she didn't draw anything from . . . there," he whispered.

Athena looked at him briefly with an almost sad face before replying. "She did actually . . . it was the first thing she drew when she was still in our room."

"What was it?" he asked as he leaned closer.

"It was a big shadow with sharp teeth . . . and silver eyes," she whispered back.

Dante felt like he'd been slugged in the gut, a shot that he expected yet never saw coming. He closed his eyes as he slowly sat down with his back to the counter and out of view from the living room. '_Of course she would see me as that . . . and who can blame her. I'm the scariest monster she's seen . . . how could she ever want me to take her in after everything I've done,' _he thought bitterly as he balled his fists.

"Dante . . ." Athena said softly as she kneeled down beside him. "You can't blame yourself for that. We were in a combat zone and she had to see you fight all those soldiers."

"That's not it," he replied in a whisper as he looked at her.

She gave him a perplexed face, unsure of what he meant.

"I've hurt her . . . so much," he whispered in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It was my fault . . . her parents were in Farglow . . . I am the reason she is an orphan," he answered, a single tear running down his cheek.

Athena gave him a shocked look before she pulled him into a hug. He returned the embrace, doing his best to stop the tirade of emotions inside him. They held the hug for nearly a minute before Athena released the hug and looked into his eyes, their dark blue color conveying a sense of warmth and tranquility.

"Even if it was your fault, that doesn't mean you can't try to take care of her now."

"But how can I? I'm a monster to her," he replied in a quivering voice.

"Because you aren't just a monster to her. When I asked her about the picture she said it was you when you were scary but then she made another drawing. It was also you but this time you weren't a shadow, instead she drew a silver man with a tail and the same eyes. Do you want to know what she said when I asked about it?"

" . . . What?"

"That it was you when you jumped in front of us and protected us from harm, the part of you that saved us," Athena answered as she cupped his cheeks with her hands. "Of course she is scared of you . . . I was too but then I got to know you. You're sweet, understanding, protective, and loving. After everything she's been through she deserves to have someone like that to be there for her."

Dante felt his eyes shift as he looked into those sapphire orbs, the clarity in them dispelling his worries as a calmness settled over him. He took a deep breath as he nodded before leaning forward and giving Athena a tender kiss which she gladly returned. After they broke the kiss Dante heard a small gasp to his side.

His head whipped around to see Lily looking at them from around the corner, her plushy in one arm. '_How did I not notice her!?'_ He thought as he turned to her, forgetting that his real eyes were revealed. The moment their eyes locked she jumped back with a cry, trembling crimson eyes looking at him with paralyzing fear.

"Lily . . ." he said softly while looking at her, lifting up one hand towards her but all it made her do was whimper.

He dropped back his hand as he moved to a kneeling position, hesitant to get any closer to her.

"It's . . . ok . . . you're safe," he whispered.

By this point a few tears started to fall down her cheeks, her eyes locked with his. He felt pain well up in his chest as he watched her begin to sob softly. "Monster . . . eyes," she said through sniffles as she retreated further.

The way she said it sounded so pained, so scared that he felt ashamed to even try to get near her. He gave a pained sigh as he focused on his eyes, feeling them shift to their human form. Athena tapped him in the shoulder to get his attention before giving him a sorry look. He looked back at Lily, her eyes now closed, as she held onto the plushy in one hand while the other rubbed over her left eye.

Athena walked towards her, slowly picking her up, Lily warping her arms around Athena's neck as she cried into her shoulder. Dante stood up as well, watching the two from a few feet away as Lily's cries began to die down.

"Shh . . . it's ok . . . I'm here," Athena said soothingly.

Lily sniffled a bit as she raised her head, looking at Athena with puffy eyes.

"It's ok . . . see? Dante doesn't want to hurt you," Athena said as she turned slightly so both could look at him.

Lily's eyes locked with his, the fear subsiding . . . if only by a margin.

"No . . . monster . . . eyes?" Lily asked timidly as she looked at him.

"No . . . no monster eyes . . ." he said softly as he neared them.

". . . Ok," she whispered, the last of her sniffles clearing up.

Dante tried to give her a gentle smile in hopes of making her feel more secure. It seemed to have some effect, her heart rate falling back to regular speed as she looked back at him with her big ruby-like eyes.

'_. . . I'm so sorry Lily . . . I truly am . . .'_

* * *

**_Author's Rant: Aahhh . . . isn't that sweet. In time Dante . . . all in good time. Hope you all enjoyed and are happy/slightly-miffed with the surprise you will get . . . tomorrow . . ._**

**_A pleasure, Jbubu_**


	51. What is to Come?

**Author's Note: An unprecedented, early and back-to-back release, for all of you. Happy belated Thanksgiving Weekend! I hope everyone had a great week and is waddling around with turkey filled bellies! As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**PS. READ THE AUTHOR'S RANT, VERY IMPORTANT!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

**Betas: yuvinile and noobalisious**

* * *

"You ever wonder why they send our mail to that office instead of just taking them to our dorms?" Athena asked Lucian as the two made their way to the teacher's wing.

She was dressed in a simple black, dark blue shirt, some shorts, and a pair of flats while Lucian donned a white button shirt, the top 3 buttons undone and his sleeves partially rolled up, and dark jeans, sporting a pair of dress shoes that could be used in more casual attire.

"Probably don't want to deal with the delivery," Lucian replied as he sorted through some letters and envelops, one of which was addressed to Dante.

"Looks like he got something important," Lucian added as he handed the large envelop to her.

"It . . . doesn't have any sender's information," she noted, looking over the exterior.

"Odd," Lucian muttered.

"So, how are you and Crato adjusting to having the dorm to yourselves?" she asked.

"Well, you guys got Lily Sunday night, moved out Tuesday, and now it's Friday. So far the only difference is that we don't get as many visits from team RWBY anymore and it's quieter than usual, otherwise we're doing well," Lucian replied.

"Aaww . . . you miss us," Athena teased making Lucian snort.

"Whatever gets you through the night. How is Lily doing by the way?" he asked.

"Fine. Her stomach has settled so she can eat some Grimm meat now, and even other foods but it has to be small portions and she needs to wash it down with 'punch' or else it upsets her," she replied.

"I love how you guys call it 'punch' even though she knows exactly what it is."

"What can you do? She's just entered her growth phase so she needs to drink at least 8 ounces every day and if we didn't find a name for it, we are bound to have a slip up and a very complicated mess on our hands," she replied.

"Well, with the hunting Dante and I did yesterday night you should be fully stocked for another 5 days, and that's without accounting for the 50 lbs. of Beowolf that Kiara got you," he said.

"Who was it anyway?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Darius Olric, gang affiliate and known hitman. Havasu got us a list of Vale criminals with bounties on their heads. We just picked out the ones with a 'dead or alive' marker. Get the 'punch', turn in the heads, and get some decent pocket money," Lucian answered.

"I guess that works," she muttered.

"Where do you keep it all?"

"We have a storage cooler in the extra room."

"When did you get that?"

"Thursday morning."

" . . ."

The two remained silent for the rest of the walk to the 4th floor of the teacher's wing, heading for room 6. Athena unlocked the door with her scroll before allowing Lucian to walk in before following. Unlike their previous dorm, this new suite was larger, with one master bedroom and two smaller rooms. The master bedroom was to the right side, complete with a spacious bathroom and walk-in closet. The two other rooms were on the left side, laid out so that the far one had a window while the one nearest to the hall didn't. They were separated in the center by a small bathroom, complete with shower, and their respective doors.

Then there was the kitchen to Athena's left. This one was shaped into an L formation with an island top in the center rather than a counter. Next was the dining room, a large table big enough for 8 to dine comfortably. Last was the living room, furnished with a large sofa, a loveseat, and a recliner in the corner, while a large TV rested on a wooden counter against the right wall.

"I will say though, this place is way more like an apartment than an academy dorm," Lucian said as he walked to the island and set the letters down.

"No kidding," Athena replied as she walked past him and headed for Dante.

He was dressed in a pair of jeans, white wraps, and green shirt, sitting cross legged on the recliner while inspecting a piece of Draco Ira, his finger trailing over the edge. A few feet in front of him was Lily, Kiara, and Havasu, all sitting on the floor. Lily was playing with Havasu's hair, trying to tie a pink ribbon to his tail of hair while he just pouted and sighed in defeat. Kiara was giggling while watching, her hair already pulled back into a ponytail with a white ribbon. Lily herself had her hair in pigtails, using a pair of dark blue ribbons, matching her light blue shirt and black shorts beautifully.

"Where are Crato, Thantos, and Cicero?" Athena asked as she passed by Havasu.

"Abandoned me to my fate and went to spar against each other," Havasu replied with a growing pout.

"Oh please, you just wanted to play with Lily," Kiara giggled as she took out her scroll and took a picture of him.

"If Coco or Yang see that I will drop dead," Havasu muttered.

"Drama queen," Athena scoffed as she looked at Dante, his eyebrows scrunching as he looked intently at the black sword fragment on his lap.

"You look focused," she commented as she stepped beside him and looked at the sword as well.

"Hmm? Oh yeah," he said as he snapped out of his thoughts. "It's just can't help but find this so odd."

"What?" she asked as she leaned on his shoulder.

"The fact that it actually broke," he replied as he held the hilt in his right hand.

"I thought weapons forged with the one of the legendary dusts couldn't be broken," she said as she looked more closely at the split just above the hilt.

A clean break, no cracks or obvious sign of what could have caused it to break.

"They aren't, but somehow Draco Ira is broken . . . and dead," Dante replied as he picked up the scabbard and sheathed the end, the other fragments already inside. "Which really sucks because I don't have my machetes either."

"You lost them back in the mission right?" Lucian said as he approached the group.

Dante nodded as he sighed. "That leaves my Artemis bow but I can't use it in close combat or for friendly sparring."

"Then get a new pair of swords," Havasu said as Lily moved on from his hair to Mr. Snuggles, trying to pick out a ribbon to give him as a bow tie.

"It's not that easy. Because of our brute strength and especially rough methods of fighting, only a specially made weapon will do," Dante replied.

"That's why I don't use any," Lucian added with a smirk.

"Well you can go and –"

"Dante," Athena warned dangerously with a glance at Lily.

"Never mind . . . The point is Beacon is unlikely to have the materials or blacksmiths necessary to make me a new sword," Dante finished with grumble.

"Then stick to the old knuckle sandwich. As I understand it, you are the local Iron chef in that department," Havasu said.

"Isn't it master chef?" Kiara asked as she helped Lily start the bow tie.

"Yeah but I thought that Iron sounded cooler plus his knuckles look like shiny iron when he doesn't use his wraps," Havasu replied.

"Well . . . I'll figure something out," Dante said as he placed the sheathed sword down against the recliner.

"Hey Dante, you got something," Athena said as she handed him the envelop and then looked at Lily.

It warmed her heart to see Lily adjusting to being around others. Dante's plan for slowly introducing new people had worked well, though Lily still needed to be able to find her or Dante whenever she got uncomfortable. Them aside, Lily had also taken especially well to Kiara and Velvet so if she and Dante both had to be away for any reason, Lily was looked after by one of them.

As for the others, Lily had become better accustomed to team RWBY since they were regular visitors while she was shy around team JNPR and the rest of team CFVY. As for the rest of the Slayers, Havasu was the only one that would actively interact with her while the rest were simply friendly and respectful of her space; a good thing too. To say that she was protective of Lily was a gross understatement and everyone knew it . . . or learned the hard way.

As Athena watched Lily play with the ribbons, she made a mental note to thank Blake for getting them for her. She was about to sit down with her when she heard Dante gasp sharply. She snapped around to look at him.

Dante had opened the envelop and was now holding what looked like 2 tickets for something and a large feather, the root being nearly white and the color deepening to a reddish brown as it approached the tip. Dante was staring at the feather, his face going very pale as he barely breathed.

"Dante!" Athena said in alarm as she got closer to him, the others turning their attention to him as well but he didn't react to them.

His hand holding the feather was trembling, his eyes shifting to their draconic form for a brief instance before returning to the regular hazel.

"Dante?" Lily asked timidly as she stood up and walked closer as well.

Dante didn't respond for several seconds, blinking several times before he took a deep breath and looked at Lily before looking to Athena.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her worry growing by the second.

"I . . . I'm not sure myself," he finally replied as he then looked at the tickets in his other hand. "But I have an idea why."

"Why what?" she asked as she tried to read the tickets.

"Why they called me back," he said cryptically as he got up from the recliner and walked to the dinner table before setting the tickets down along with the feather.

Athena walked to the table as well and looked down at the tickets. They were for an airship to Vacuo, round trip, dated for Sunday morning. '_Why would he get sent tickets to go to Vacuo?'_ she wondered as she looked back at Dante.

"Who called you back?" she asked softly.

"My . . . parents."

Everyone fell silent as they stared at Dante with wide eyes, Lily the only one just looking around in confusion.

"Y-Your parents?" Lucian stammered.

Dante nodded. "There can be no mistake, it's my mother's feather."

"And they want you to return to Vacuo? For what? Wait . . . I thought you said you haven't seen them in years so how can they even know you're here?" Kiara asked.

"I don't know . . . it could be because they miss me or . . ." he looked at Lily for a moment. "There is something they need to speak to me about."

"You mean . . . ?" Athena asked as she glanced at the small girl.

"Unlikely . . . no one knows about her origins aside from Ozpin, Goodwitch, and those of us that participated in the mission. If there is something they want to discuss, she may only be a side detail," Lucian said while looking at her.

"What do you mean by that?" Havasu asked.

"It's possible that . . . they are aware of our relationship," Dante said as he took her hand. "And have reservations about it."

Athena looked at him in the eyes, seeing his worry clear as day. She could feel the slightest tremble in his hands.

"So what do we do?" she asked softly.

"The message is clear . . . you and I both have to go or else my father comes here," he answered.

"Your father . . . the alpha dragon?" she asked in a small voice. Dante nodded.

"So? If he comes looking for a fight then we'll give him one," Havasu said with a smirk.

"It wouldn't be a fight . . . just a bloodbath," Dante replied. "We can't hold a candle to one of the Kishin."

"Y-you mean . . . one of the ten demon lords?" Kiara asked as her and Lucian's ears flattened down.

"Not just one of the Kishin . . . but Astaroth himself."

Athena had never seen anyone of the Alphas get scared before. Sure, she had seen Dante get hesitant or worried at times, but never actually scared. In fact the closest thing to fear she could recall was when Alluria backed away from Dante when he drew out his sword and that had been more of surprise than anything. Looking at them now, she could tell they weren't just scared . . . no, they were terrified. Their breathing became faint, their eyes shifting from agitation, and their frames were trembling.

"You mean . . . your father . . . is Astaroth . . . the strongest of the Kishin . . ." Lucian said in barely a whisper.

"Yes . . . and he wants me to come home," Dante replied with clenched fists.

Everyone stayed silent, letting the information settle. Athena's mind went into overdrive, thinking of what could mean for all of them. Would Dante be forced to stay? What if they didn't approve of Dante's role as a Slayer? Would they ever accept her? So many unknowns and all with only one course of action, to obey the summons and see for themselves.

"Athena?" Lily said in a quivering voice as she grabbed ahold of her hand. "Are you and Dante leaving?"

Her silence was an answer enough for Lily, her eyes starting to tear up as she sniffed. Athena sighed softly as she gently picked Lily up, one arm under her legs as she rested her head on her shoulder.

"It looks like we have to but don't worry, it won't be for long," she said soothingly.

Even with her answer, Lily started to cry, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. She kept saying soft words as she turned her eyes to Dante. She understood the look in his eyes. He was just as scared as Lily was of not coming back, and so was she . . .

* * *

'_. . . barely . . . blood loss . . . failed . . .'_

She could hear the faintest murmurs, most indistinct, leaving her confused as pain throbbed through her body. She could feel most of her body but regardless of her attempts, it wouldn't respond. She didn't know how long it took but slowly she managed to open her eyes, if only by a margin, only to be greeted by a blinding light forcing her to shut them again.

She waited for some time before trying to open them again, this time avoiding direct line of sight towards the harsh lights. She swiveled her eyes around, making out the image of a black ceiling and one large hanging light. She couldn't smell much of anything aside from disinfectant and her own blood but she couldn't tell where it was coming from. She couldn't move her head around to see and every inch of her was in some form of pain.

After what felt like hours she heard a door open somewhere behind her, two sets of steps coming in before a figure stepped into her sight. She would have cringed if she had the energy as she looked at the man standing beside her, Dr. Lepio, his dark eyes scanning over her. After a few seconds he glanced to something behind her before locking onto her own eyes.

"It seems that you've regained consciousness, Ms. Alluria," he said in his usually cold voice.

"Obviously," she managed to reply in a voice hoarse from disuse. She couldn't even muster the energy to scowl at him for referring to her by name.

"Even with one foot in the grave your attitude persists," he retorted with an annoyed voice.

"One foot in the grave?" she asked with the slightest hint of worry.

Dr. Lepio nodded before explaining, "The right side of your ribcage was crushed along with the lung. If it had been your left side then you would have gone into cardiac arrest. Several of your spinal disks were cracked as well, your right shoulder had several muscular tears . . . and your left wing was ripped off."

As Lepio listed the damage, Alluria felt her heart sink. Even with her regenerative ability, the one thing she could not walk away from was a crushed heart. She could regrow a new wing and heal all other forms of damage but her heart was her one weak spot, the weakness to all vampires.

After Dr. Lepio finished he grew oddly quiet, his eyes carrying a look that she could not ever recall seeing, fear. The doctor was scared, his eyes subtly glancing to the space behind her while his heart rate accelerated. She knew Dr. Lepio was a sick and twisted man, an oddity that relished in the sound of screaming, found ecstasy in the rending and defiling of bodies but now he was little more than a frightened human.

Slowly Alluria felt an odd pressure come over her, a presence making itself known. It was old and commanding, a sense of power radiating off it unlike anything Alluria had faced in combat. Feelings of dread began to fester within her, her own heart-rate rising as realization dawned on her.

' _. . . no . . . w-why is . . . one of them . . . here?'_ she wondered as she broke into a cold sweat.

"Lepio . . . leave us," a feminine voice commanded, her tone leaving nothing for discussion.

Dr. Lepio quickly spun on his heel and all but ran out, closing the door behind him. What followed was an agonizing silence, the pressure growing as the figure behind her stepped closer but still remained out of view.

"Hello . . . little bat," the woman said in an emotionless voice.

" . . ." Alluria didn't speak, knowing that unless asked a direct question she was not to mouth a word in their presence.

"It seems you had an interesting encounter in the mountains," the woman continued in a cold voice. "And here I was thinking that sending you there would serve as a little punishment for the stunt in Beacon . . . oh well. Perhaps this will serve as a better lesson . . . if you are instructed to kill someone, make sure they are dead."

Alluria heard the woman step closer, this time a few strands of hair passing into her sight, the crimson locks brushing near her.

"But, there is little that can be done about that now. It isn't as if we expected such a skilled force to attack you and we did have the others working in Atlas at the time. Regardless, the operations in the Razorback region are lost, as well as our only successful hybrid."

The woman grew quiet, the pressure in the room rising as the woman's irritation surfaced. Despite her best efforts Alluria felt a slight whimper escape her, her fear starting to turn to panic.

"Scared are we?" the woman asked with sick amusement. "Don't worry little bat . . . you still hold his favor, if only by a margin but remember . . ."

Alluria felt one clawed finger pass beside her ear before trailing along her cheek, the tip pressing into her skin as it left a slick cut. The woman then lifted the finger, a blood-red claw coming into view with the tip dripping liquid crimson.

"If you fail us again . . . one rabid dragon won't be your only worry," the woman said as she stepped back before the sound of her steps reached Alluria's ears.

"Ta-ta," the woman chimed before she left the room and closed the door, leaving Alluria alone again.

As silence ensued Alluria felt hot tears trail down the sides of her face, small whimpers escaping her as she closed her eyes . . .

* * *

The morning air was cool, a fine mist hanging low to the ground. The sun had barely begun to rise, painting the sky in shades of blue and orange. Dante glanced at the bullhead behind him, Brick waiting for them in the cockpit, ready to take them to Vale's international airport.

He returned his attention to those in front of him. Half his team, team ACHN, Blake, Velvet, and Lily, all dressed in light jackets to ward of the cold. He glanced to his side to look at Athena, dressed in a dark blue coat over her usual attire. Both had backpacks on along with their usual weapons, the dead sword being the only one exposed against Dante's hip.

He returned his sight to his friends, noticing the looks of concern in from the Slayers, the only ones aware of danger their trip carried. Lily was in Kiara's arms, already teary eyed as she looked at them, clutching onto Mr. Snuggles. '_We need to get going . . . the flight leaves in 2 hours,' _he thought as forced a small smile.

"Well . . ." he started in a low tone. "I guess we should get going."

". . . Do you really need to go?" Blake asked softly.

"Yeah, there are some . . . family matters that I can't skip," he answered.

"So you'll both be gone for the whole fall break?" Velvet asked with sad eyes.

"It's just for a week," Athena answered. "We'll be back before you know it."

The students didn't look like it made them feel any better but there wasn't anything they could do about it. Lucian then sighed as he stepped up to Dante and looked him in the eyes before offering a hand. Dante took it, shaking it firmly as Lucian spoke in a whisper.

"Make it back in one piece. I'll keep an eye out here for you," he said before he smirked slightly. "I just accepted you as my alpha so don't go running off now."

Dante smirked back with a nod, letting go of Lucian's hand and focusing his eyes on Lily. She looked back at him and Athena before asking Kiara to set her down, then walked over to them. They both kneeled down to be eye level with her as she sniffled while hugging onto her plushy.

"You will return . . . right?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes trembling as she looked between them.

"Of course sweetie," Athena replied as she pulled Lily into a gentle hug, the girl returning it with one arm.

Dante looked at the two, feeling his heart swell at the sight of how close the two were but also feeling a looming worry. What if something happened and they didn't return? Who would take care of Lily? What would happen to his pack? All could be jeopardized if their trip ended badly and he was powerless to stop it. He clenched his jaw in frustration, hating not knowing what could happen.

"Dante . . ." Lily said timidly as she released Athena and looked at him. "Please come back . . . I don't want to be alone again."

His eyes softened as he looked at her. He looked at her crimson eyes, no longer seeing the freak of nature that had once compelled him to destroy it, but an innocent child that he had sworn to protect. He gave her a small smile, a genuine one, as he brought his hand up, his pinky extended. She looked at it for a moment before bringing up her own small hand and interlacing her pinky with his.

"We will come back . . . it's a pinky promise."

It did the trick, Lily managing to give him a faint smile as she nodded before surprising him with a quick hug. Then she pulled back and ran back to Kiara, hugging on to her leg as she looked back at them.

Dante and Athena both straightened up and turned around, walking towards Brick's bullhead. They soon stepped on and gave Brick the all clear. As the engines roared to life and the ship started to ascend, they both looked down towards their friends, waving to them as the bullhead pulled away and out of sight.

Dante sighed heavily as they settled down into their seats, waiting for the short trip to the Vale airfield and then the ship to Vacuo.

"Hey . . ." Athena said as she grabbed onto his hand and faced him. "It will be ok . . . you'll see."

She then gave him a warm kiss, bring them both comfort. After they broke the kiss Dante smiled at her, some of his worries dispelling as he looked into her sapphire eyes.

"Yeah . . . I think we will . . ."

…

…

. . . **Fin** . . .

* * *

**Author's rant: **

**. . . yes ladies and gents, tis the end of this story . . . or should I say Volume. There will be a sequel! Just when will I begin this story, I'm not too sure yet but I will be taking a break from writing for at least a few weeks (got to crank for the last stretch of the semester)**

**And here I say my sincerest thanks to everyone who chose to read my story and support it. It means the world to me knowing that my efforts bring enjoyment to others! Thank YOU!**

**Now then . . . To tide everyone over/ and build hype for the next instalment, I have decided to create a side series of sorts that will tie into the main story (at least from the second volume and on). This side series will have events relavent to the main story but will serve to deepen the character backstory and tie in other events happening on the side that I can't give to much focus in the main story. This side series will also let me add more elements of comedy or . . . adult themes I have elected to keep out of the main story. **

**This side story title, Behind the Shadows: Stories Untold, is scheduled to posted Sunday, the next week following this week, and will already have the first 4 chapters (these will cover a period between the end of this volume and a tease/sneak peek for the next volume). **

**Just so you know, you can go on reading the main story without this additional story and still enjoy it. The side story is simply an extra for those who wish to read it while allowing me to focus more development into characters getting sidelined.**

**As I've said before, I hope you all enjoyed and look forward to this coming sequel!**

**Goodbye, for now, Jbubu**


	52. Sequel Alert

**Hello to all, just a notice to all who may be, i would assume, interested. The sequel to this story has been published. It is titled:**

**Beacon's Hidden Academy: Deception Game**

**Hope to see you all there!**


End file.
